Friends with Benefits
by Kreszentenia
Summary: After having both of their hearts crushed, Link and Zelda decide on a special arrangement. As long as neither of them develop feelings for each other, every thing will be fine! Simple enough, right? But, as the they say, the heart wants what the heart wants... Rated M for explicit scenes.
1. Chapter One: Drinks

**_Warning: _**_Alcohol is mentioned, as well as heavy sexual themes. Don't like, don't read! _

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**_Friends with Benefits_**

**_Chapter One : Drinks_**

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"Hey, Link!" Zelda smiled, walking up to her old friend at the bar. The man she spoke of grinned when he saw her, getting up from the barstool and hugging her.

"Zelda!" He chuckled, noting how she hasn't changed at all in the past few months. "It's been so long since we've seen each other!"

"I know, right?" Her happy demeanor faded to look more troubled. "Now that Ganon and I broke up, I'll have a lot more time on my hands to hang out with you and everyone else."

"Ah, come on, now." Link said, not stepping away from the blonde-haired girl in front of him. "He was an ass anyway. That's why he never wanted me to be around you."

"I know, I know. He did have his moments, though." She sat down on the stool next to him as he resumed his prior position. The bartender walked up to them.

"Can I get you anything?" He directed his question more towards Zelda, seeing as Link already had a beer in front of him, taking a sip.

"Just a water, please." She replied, cautiously. She knew how she got when she drank a lot. Link gave her an annoyed look.

"No you won't. We're at a bar together right now, not to mention you probably haven't had a good drink in months. You need one. And if you're concerned about getting home, I'll make sure to get and pay for your taxi." He turned to the bartender and declared, "She'll be having a margarita on me." The bartender nodded as Zelda rested her cheek on her hand.

"Unlike you, Forester, I don't need to drink to make myself feel better." Zelda mumbled with a glare. He chuckled nervously.

"What are you saying?" He took a big gulp from his mug. "What do I have to be sad about?"

She raised an eyebrow before answering, "Midna crushing your heart a few days ago?"

He swallowed hard, setting down the glass with a fake, but still painful, smile. "Who told you that lie?"

"Sheik."

"Seriously, Zel? You can't believe everything your brother says." Link downed the rest of his drink when the bartender came back with the margarita. He took the empty glass to refill it for him.

"He told me you finally mustered up the courage to tell her how much you like her, but she just laughed and said she would never see you as more than a friend." She smiled, cockily lifting up her drink and taking a triumphant sip. "And that's she's already interested in Dark Knight."

Link cleared his throat, embarrassed knowing that Zelda had found this out. He fanned his face, clearly getting warm from the blush. "Whew… wonder why that drink is taking so long!"

"Dear goddesses, Link!" She groaned in annoyance. "We've known each other since we were kids, and now you're getting all flustered because you got rejected and I know about it?"

"Apparently." He shrugged. She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink before she continued to lecture him. Not before long he felt himself smiling. _She really hasn't changed. _He thought to himself, remembering all of the times he was given one of Zelda's infamous I-care-about-you-so-I'm-angry fits. He's experienced quite a few of those growing up.

"I mean, you've seen me _way_ worse, and I'm never embarrassed. Remember when – " Link's annoyed sigh cut her off, angering her more.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, princess." He swirled the liquid in his now full glass, laughing as he spoke his old nickname for her. "Besides, I think we are both better off single. No one will hold us back, or end up breaking our hearts."

"Agreed." Zelda calmed down by this point and smiled at his accusation. She looked down at her nearly empty glass and got an idea. Raising it up, she said, "To being single!"

Chuckling, Link added, "And ready to mingle!" He reached his mug up to clank her cup, but she had already pulled it away, raising a disapproving eyebrow. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm sorry, but I had to." She rolled her eyes while laughing, finally clanking their glasses together.

* * *

"I still can't believe my brother and Malon are getting _married_." Zelda, getting noticeably tipsy, murmured as she played with the salt on her second glass that is now almost empty.

"They've been together since high school. It was just a matter of time." Link took a big gulp of his sixth beer.

"Ugh, they're just so perfect for each other." She sighed, "I wish I could have something like that."

"Me too." He mumbled. They both looked at each other before awkwardly going back to finishing their drinks.

* * *

"Ha! I knew I could do more shots faster than you!" Zelda laughed, leaning into and poking Link's chest. He chuckled with her.

"Well, I let you win. I know better than to take too many shots so quickly."

"Uh-huh." She retorted sarcastically. "You just don't want to admit you got beat by a girl!" She leaned in to playfully punch his arm, but ended up almost falling. In order to avoid faceplanting, she grabbed onto him rather than hitting him. "Whoa…"

"Yeah, you almost fell." He said breathlessly, almost blushing when she didn't let go of his arm.

"Nah, it's just…" She trailed off, squeezing his limb lightly. "You're so… strong." She smirked, "I like it." She tried her best to sound sexy, but in her drunken stupor it came out very slurred. He didn't notice.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He laughed, his rare arrogant side showing slightly. He ended up getting his fingers tangled in Zelda's golden locks. "But it's great to hear that from such a beautiful girl like you." She giggled at his compliment, resting her head on his shoulder.

"And then, out of nowhere, tons of cuccos came and started attacking me!" Link along with Zelda laughed at his own memory. She was currently grabbing onto his forearm, gasping for air. He suddenly checked the clock on the wall and slapped the side of his face in shock. "Goddesses, Zel! It's really late!" He stood up hurriedly, her not too far behind. "Where are you staying now since you and Ganondorf are broken up? I live right around the corner, so I don't have to worry about getting home, but I promised I would…"

His rambling was stopped short when, even in his drunken state, he recognized the look in her eyes. Desire. He fought off a blush as she brought him close by grabbing him by the waist.

"I'd _love_ to stay at your place, just for tonight. If it's alright with you." She whispered as sultry as she could in his ear, trying her best to avoid slurring.

When he pulled away, she could tell that his answer would be a firm 'no' based on the shock that was written all over his face. But, he soon smirked, the same look unknowingly appearing in his own eyes.

"I'm fine with that."

* * *

The pair soon found themselves walking along the streets of Castle Town, laughing at nothing in particular. They wrapped their arms around each other's waists to keep close as they made their way to Link's apartment. Once they got to the building and into the elevator, not fond of taking the stairs, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They had not yet kissed, however. The elevator finally 'dinged,' signaling that they had reached the floor. He grabbed her hand and led her to his door.

He dropped his keys, bending over to pick them up off the disgustingly designed carpet. Zelda, seeing this as an opportunity, slapped his behind. Link quickly stood back up, turning to look at her. She just giggled in response to his surprise. He rolled his eyes and started to unlock his door. After a minute or two of him fiddling with his many keys, she grew bored and her mischievousness picked up again.

She stood up on her tippy toes, raising her up, and started attacking the back of his neck with open mouth kisses, carelessly sucking his skin. He turned his head slightly.

"You're distracting me." He grumbled, annoyed that he couldn't find the right key.

"Yeah, I'm your problem right now." He rolled his eyes and he finally heard the click coming from the door, signaling it was finally unlocked. "Finally, geez."

Link turned around completely this time, latching his arm around her waist while the other turned the door knob, opening it. He brought her in, quickly closing the door and pushing her up against it. His lips came crashing down on hers for the first time. She tasted of the olives she had eaten before. His hands ran down her sides, stopping at her hips. He stuck one of his legs in between her own, tickling her bare legs under her skirt. She busied herself with undoing the buttons of his shirt. Once she was done, he carelessly ripped it off and threw it across the room.

Zelda began running one of her hands down his toned chest, feeling the crevices and making him shudder. Her other hand was clutching his dirty blonde hair, keeping him against her lips. He began leading her to his bedroom, not even caring enough to look where he was going. She opened her mouth slightly, allowing his tongue to creep in. She was surprised when he stopped, but her confusion didn't last long when she was pushed back onto a soft surface; his bed. He began to climb on top of her and she quickly stripped herself of her sweater, leaving only her tank top underneath.

She was still sitting up slightly, his arms on either side of her, encasing her. Not that she minded. He started to kiss her jaw, and she lifted her head, allowing him more access. His kisses continued down her neck to her collarbone, where he began to suck on her shoulder.

"Oh, sweet Nayru…" She gasped, pleasure washing over her. Zelda's hands grew tired of touching his bare chest and went down to skim the rim of his pants, causing him to shiver. They continued this for a little while, until he lifted one of his hands from the bed, reaching to cup her breast. She gasped at the feeling, soon melting into his touch when he began to massage her. Her leg lifted, accidentally grinding against his clothed groin. He groaned and began to kiss her harder than ever before. She moaned into his lips, the feeling overtaking her.

"Zel…" His fingers danced along the bottom of her shirt, unsure whether she was okay with this. She removed herself from his lips and removed the article of clothing herself, leaving her in her black bra and skirt, which was also taken off quickly. She began to work on removing his jeans, which also proved to not be difficult.

She fell backwards, now lying completely on the bed. He snaked his hand underneath her, unclasping her bra with ease. He slipped it off her, throwing it somewhere on the ground. Link couldn't help but stare at the sight of his best girl friend's bare chest. He dove down and began to lick her nipple, causing many gasps and moans on her part. His other hand worked on her other breast.

"Oh my gods…" Zelda threw an arm over her face as her moans increased in volume. Link smirked while hearing her, his fingers slowly sliding underneath her panties, slowly sliding them down her legs. Once they were off, he went to kiss her swollen lips, which opened for him quickly. He began to rub his fingers across her entrance, making her shiver in anticipation. She continued to moan as he touched her.

"You like that, huh?" He chuckled.

"Please… stop teasing… me…" She breathed between kisses, gripping onto his boxers, now the only thing separating them.

"As you wish, Zelda." He smiled. She closed her eyes as she prepared herself for him. But, she became confused when she felt his heat leave her. She sat up, her eyes opening halfway to see him standing, fully naked.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled at her question.

"It's a good thing that I'm not drunk enough to forget about using protection." Link mumbled. Her mouth formed an 'o' shape, also thankful for him being mostly in his head, unlike her at the moment. She just wanted him. After a few seconds, he climbed back on to her. Just seeing him in all of his glory made her feel more hot than before. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Zelda smiled up at him. He nodded, kissing her once again as he slowly slid into her. She gasped as she felt him fill inside of her. Cautious at first, he didn't move much. But it was long before he began pulling in and out of her, his thrusting gaining speed each time. He tried to muffle her cries of pleasure by keeping his mouth against hers, but it didn't do much, especially when they were too focused on how good it felt to continue to kiss. Suddenly, she felt Link hit that spot that made her feel overwhelmed, causing her mind to go completely blank. Her nails dug into his back intensely. He groaned at her strong grip, but that didn't stop him.

He continued to push inside of her until she practically screamed, signaling her climax hit her. Her inner walls clenched around him, making the experience even better for him. It wasn't long before he let out a low growl, reaching his own peak. His thrusts became slower and slower before they finally stopped completely. He remained inside of her, the two lying on the bed, their naked forms coated in sweat.

"Wow… that was…" He was breathing heavy, exhausted from their activity.

"Amazing." She finished for him, gently brushing the hair out of his face and planting a soft peck on his lips. He smiled back at her.

"Exactly." Link whispered, letting out a sigh.

"Midna doesn't know what she's missing." Zelda commented, flipping over so she had her back to him.

"And neither does Ganon." He returned, wrapping his arm protectively around her waist, his face coming to rest on hers. She nodded in response, snuggling into his embrace. There was a long silence. "So… what does that make us?"

"…Not sure." Zelda thought for a second before responding, "That's something sober us will have to figure out."

Link chuckled, letting his exhaustion take over and falling asleep. She did too, feeling her best guy friend's arms comfort her.

* * *

_So I guess that's the first chapter. If you see any mistakes in spelling or grammar or whatever, feel free to tell me about it in a PM or review! _

_This will be a multi-chapter fanfiction, and I already have a lot of drama and whatnot planned for it. I've already started writing the second chapter, so look out for it!_

_ - Kreszentenia_


	2. Chapter Two: Afterwards

_**Friends with Benefits**_

_**Chapter Two : Afterwards**_

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_[ Zelda's POV ]_

I opened my eyes slowly, but it didn't take long for me to shut them again. My head was pounding, my punishment for getting extremely drunk last night. Sighing, I relaxed back into the warm embrace of the man sleeping behind me.

This time, my eyes burst open on their own. _I do not remember this part of the night._ I thought to myself. I didn't want to turn and see who I was sleeping next to. But, already being wide awake, I decided to look around the room that was clearly _not_ mine.

I spotted a Loftwings jersey hanging lazily out of the dresser drawer. I thought of a guy I knew that had such a jersey, but shook off the thought, refusing to believe it. But, as I recognized a picture on the dresser, one of me and my best friends, Malon and Midna, reality crashed down on me. Turning, hoping it was not true, yet knowing deep down it was, I saw the figure of my best and oldest guy friend asleep, naked, next to me. I fought the temptation to gawk at him as realization finally hit me.

_I slept… with Link!_

I jumped out of his arms, scrambling to get out of bed as quickly as possible. "Shit… this is not good." I whispered as I rushed to find my clothes. _Maybe, if I leave before he wakes up, he won't remember anything, and everything will stay normal!_

I hopelessly tried to reassure myself with this thought. Fixing my shirt, I went into the bathroom to try and make it look like I _hadn't_ just slept with my best friend.

Looking in the mirror, I grimaced seeing the makeup job that I once thought was perfect completely smudged and messy. Quickly washing my face and touching up my bed head, I found my purse and quietly left to begin the walk of shame. While creeping down the hallway, I thought I had been successful in avoiding anyone, but that changed when I heard a voice while waiting for the elevator.

"So… are you 'Midna'?" The man said. Surprised, I turned and saw a tall, thin man with asymmetrical white hair and gray skin standing behind me. He had an interesting look to him, with diamond shaped blue earrings and a long red coat (that looked more like a cape) covering a white button-down shirt and matching pants. He was also wearing black gloves. I felt like I had seen him before.

"Sorry, I must have startled you. And I also apologize for being so impolite." He elegantly placed his hand on his face, possibly in embarrassment, but it looked more like he was bragging or teasing me in a way. "I am Ghirahim. You may recognize me because I am a pretty well-known fashion designer." That's where he's from, huh… "I am also Link's neighbor, so I couldn't help overhearing you two's little… get-together late last night." My face flushed at his words, but he didn't seem to care. "I was going to come over and ask you to be more quiet, but I remembered he had been pining over some girl named Midna for months now, and thought he might be with her." He sighed happily. Ghirahim seemed nice, but I still found him creepy. But boy, he sure can talk. "Despite how loud you were being, I couldn't bring myself to stop the endeavors of young love. So I stuck in earplugs and ignored the noise, if only for last night."

My eye twitched. "Are you and Link close or something?" I asked, surprised Link would be friendly with _this_ guy enough to tell him about the whole Midna situation. Then again, I was just as surprised when he befriended that mask salesmen a couple years back.

"Not in the slightest! We practically hate each other." He sighed, moving his hair behind his ear. "I hate how much noise he makes and he hates how much I complain." The elevator door finally opened, and, much to my distress, he followed me in. "He has these long, loud conversations with some guy, Sheik or something, about this girl. I don't try to listen in, but the walls are so thin it's hard not to. My curiosity got the best of me, which is what led me to asking if you are her." He stared intently at me, and I sighed, somewhat sadly.

"No, I'm not." I mumbled.

"Oh." He breathed with a look of surprise on his face, awkwardly playing with the fabric of his jacket.

"See, we went out for drinks last night and things got out of hand." I don't know why I'm telling him this… maybe it's because I know I won't be able to tell anyone else. "We've been friends since elementary school. Sheik, who is my brother, introduced us back then. Which is why this whole thing is so awkward for me."

"Ah, so you're Zelda?" Ghirahim asked. I nodded but gave him a confused look, leading him to explain, "He's talked about you too."

"Hm." I rubbed my head as silence encased us. After a minute or so, I said, "And, because you're probably wondering, Midna rejected him. Part of the reason we went to the bar together."

"Ah, so sad." He placed his hands on his hips, a smirk slowly appearing. "At least now he won't talk day and night about her, ruining my precious beauty sleep." He flipped his hair, and I could swear that it sparkled. My eyes narrowed in annoyance as he continued. "Oh, that sounded insensitive, huh?" He pondered this for a moment as I nodded barely. The elevator stopped, opening on the ground level. "No matter. And because this opportunity arose for me to speak with you; if what happened last night were to ever happen again, please keep it down. You're horribly loud." And with that, he sauntered off.

I can't believe I opened up to this guy.

I watched as he hopped into a limo and speed away. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Link for having _Ghirahim_ as a neighbor. I sat on a couch in the main lobby, wondering what I was going to do. I pulled out my cell phone. I heard it ring a few times until it was finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Malon. It's Zelda." I said quietly into the receiver. Her tone brightened up.

"Oh, hey! What's up?" She questioned, innocent to the whole situation. I eventually stood up and walked outside, about to hail a taxi. "Why are you calling so early in the morning?

"Can I… stay at your place for a little while?" I wrapped my free hand around the back of my neck, massaging the tension in it.

"Um, sure… I'm sure your brother would be fine if you bunked here for a little while." She paused for a moment. "I thought you were going to ask Link…? Did he say no?"

"No, it's just…" I sighed, turning around to look up at the building behind me. "Yeah, he said no. It's a long story… and it's kind of a personal reason." I kept trying to think of some kind of excuse that wouldn't put Link in the wrong, but was a good reason why I couldn't stay with him.

"Ah, okay." I heard rustling in the background. We said our goodbyes, and I headed to the hotel to pick up my suitcases. By noon I was at Malon and Sheik's loft-condo, unpacking my things in their spare bedroom.

"Hey, sis." My brother's voice startled me, causing me to turn around. "How did Link look? I mean, after that whole thing with Midna, he was a total mess."

"He seemed to be doing fine. He was going on and on about how great it is that we're both single." I turned my head to hide the glowing blush.

"Ah… so he's in the 'I'm totally fine don't worry about me' stage, huh." He chuckled lightly, "Typical."

"Mm-hmm…" I mumbled, wiping sweat off my forehead as I finished putting my clothes in the empty dresser and closet.

"Speaking of being single, how're you holding up, Zellie?" He rubbed my back. I shrugged, sitting on the bed.

"Okay, first of all, don't call me that." He laughed, but continued to wait for my answer I'm doing good… I didn't realize until after the breakup how… controlling Ganon was." Sheik laughed at this.

"I told you! He barely let you do anything without him being there with you." He lowered his voice slightly. "Not to mention he really creeped out Malon and your other friends."

"How come you never told me?" I looked at him.

"I did!" He defended himself. We suddenly heard Malon's yelling from downstairs.

"Hey, guys! Look!" The two of us walked out of our room and leaned over the banister, looking down into the living room. She held up a letter for us to see. "The postman just dropped it off. We're all invited to Dark Knight's party Friday night!" Sheik turned to me with a smile.

"It's the perfect opportunity for you to catch up with everyone!" He exclaimed. I grinned back, thinking of seeing my friends again. Then I thought of something…

Link will be there.

I knew I was going to see him eventually, but I was hoping I'd be able to avoid him for at least a week, if not two or more.

* * *

_[ Link's POV ]_

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was naked.

The second thing I noticed was that I had a wicked headache, proven while I stood up suddenly to put some clothes on.

Rubbing my temples, I slowly stood up, found some boxers and pants and pulled them on. Just as I leaned against the doorframe of my bedroom, I saw a familiar blonde rush out my front door, slamming it in the process. My head hurting and it being the morning, it took me a second to remember what had happened.

"Oh my gods…" I groaned, hitting my head against the frame with a sigh. "I am such an idiot."

I considered calling her, but knew that she wouldn't pick up. And if she did, I don't know what I'd say. I mean, we've known each other forever, and I have never seen her as anything other than my friend. _I don't like her in that way… do I?_

Looking over to my dresser, I saw a picture taken at a high school graduation party. Zelda, Malon, and Midna were posing together, me taking the picture. Zelda hates how she looks in it, but I always thought she looked cute… _Okay… I have to admit that Zelda had gotten pretty hot over the years._ I ran my hands through my hair, brushing the bangs off my face. _But being in a relationship would be way too weird… and I don't know if I could stand living with her annoying habits, nor will she be able to do the same with mine. _

I laughed, knowing how she hates that I don't clean things immediately and wait until it gets really bad, and I hate how she always reads way too far into things. I remember that once, I showed her a song I thought she'd like because it sounded like one of her favorite songs, but she said that it sounded like a horse's call and asked if I was insinuating that her favorite song sounded like one too. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I just apologized and left promptly.

In the midst of my thinking I had gone to eat some breakfast, put on a shirt, and check my mail. After shifting through junk mail and bills, I came across a letter from Dark. Ever since he moved to our district and started high school with us, we've been stuck together because of our friends. They always say how similar they are, but in our eyes we are polar opposites. Most of the time we get along, but whenever we fight, it gets pretty intense.

Opening the letter, I saw it was a party invitation for Friday. And, I have to give credit where credit is due, Dark throws an awesome party. Despite this, I didn't really feel up to going. The two girls I didn't want to see the most would be there and my feelings for Dark at the moment were not exactly great because of the whole Midna situation. But, I knew Dark and Sheik would be pretty suspicious if I said I didn't want to go.

Sheik would probably believe me if I told him that it was because of Midna, but I personally didn't want Dark knowing about Midna or Zelda. If I said it was because Midna rejected me, he'd get pissed off at me for trying to 'steal her from him' even though they weren't going out. And if I told him about Zelda, he'd definitely blackmail me with that information by making me do whatever he wanted with the threat that he would tell Sheik that I had a one night stand with his sister.

I really don't want to see how Sheik would react to that.

So, ultimately, I decided to go. Who knows, it might not turn out to be all that bad.

* * *

_This chapter I feel is kind of un-eventful... I promise that the ones after this will be lots of fun! Well, Ghirahim made his appearance, so I'm happy. I love him so much!_

_I started school again today... ugh. I don't mind school much, but the only thing I really care about is seeing my friends. All of my new teachers aren't that cool either... Well, my English teacher is, but I always love my English teachers. Except for sixth grade *shudder*. And, in one of my electives, there are all guys in the class except for me and one other girl, who looks like a prissy girly-girl... Someone who wouldn't like a weirdo like me. _

_So I'm gonna stop talking now and finish this up. So, if you'd like to tell me something, feel free to review or send a PM. If you're interested in the story, you can always follow it, and favorite it if you really like it so far! Thanks for reading!_

_ - Kreszentenia _


	3. Chapter Three: The Party

_First of all, I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I have a plan now, so they should be out faster from now on. Secondly, thank you for all the wonderful reviews, favorites, and follows! It means a lot to me!_

* * *

**_Friends with Benefits_**

**_Chapter Three : The Party_**

* * *

"C'mon, Zel!" Malon nudged her in aggravation. "You gotta dress up! Who knows? You might meet a cute guy there!"

"Malon, I just want to wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt." Zelda groaned.

"But this dress looks great on you!" The other girl whined, holding up a short purple dress. Sheik, who had been for the most part silent, grabbed the outfit and held it up.

"It really brings out your eyes and your natural curves. It would be even better if paired with the right makeup, hairstyle, and accessories. I'd suggest purple eye shadow with pink lipstick. And letting your hair down, but trying a few pieces back with a ribbon would look good. And then you can wear your Triforce earings! " He commented, making the two girls look at him confusedly. He lowered the dress and returned their gaze. "What?"

"Are you sure you're not hiding the fact that you're a girl?" Malon joked.

"Of course not." Sheik laughed. He quickly pulled his fiancé into his embrace. "You should know that more than anyone." He murmured.

"Oh, of course I do." She giggled, running a finger down his chest.

"Guys. I'm _right_ here." Zelda stated bluntly, being sickened by their mushiness. The couple laughed before pulling away from each other.

Zelda had come to realize how annoying living with an engaged couple can be, especially when it involves your brother and one of your best friends. She somehow always manages to walk in on their intimate times, if she doesn't hear it through the wall first. She planned to move out before they got married… she didn't want to overstay her welcome. Yet, as the two left her temporary room so she could change, she began to wonder where she could go.

_It'll take too long to find my own apartment, not to mention it would be hard to afford a good enough one. _She thought, sliding the dress on. _I could ask Midna if I could move in with her… _She paused her thoughts to zip up the outfit. _Nah, she hates having roommates, so she'll tell me to ask Link, which I definitely do not want to do. _

"Are you almost ready?" Sheik called from outside the door. Zelda sighed.

"Just a minute…. I need to fix my hair and makeup." He groaned from outside, causing her to roll her eyes.

They had left after about five minutes, leisurely walking to Dark's place, which was fortunately nearby. It didn't surprise them when they entered to screaming over loud music. _Dark's going to get some complaints from his neighbors. _

Zelda didn't even get a chance to greet anyone before Dark draped his right arm around her shoulders, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Now that your whole thing with Ganondorf's over," he said in that deep voice of his, "I thought I'd set you up with one of my friends."

"Dark, I really don't think – " She began to protest, but was cut off by his laughter.

"C'mon, Zellie, I know you'll love him."

"Do _not_ call me Zellie." She gave him an angered look, which he completely ignored. "But seriously, I don't really want to – "

"Vaati!" Cutting her off again, he yelled at a guy who was facing the other way. He had long, light purple hair. Upon hearing his name, he spun around, standing much taller than both of them. "This is the girl I was talking about."

"Ah, so you are Zelda?" He asked. His tone was light-hearted, yet he appeared stone cold and dead serious. "What is a fair maiden such as you thinking by getting involved with a man like Dark?"

"Haha, very funny, Vaati." He laughed sarcastically. "But I have more guests to greet." With that, he left them alone.

"Would you like me to get you something to drink?" Vaati asked her, but she shook her head.

"I'm fine right now." _I must admit that this guy has some charm._

"Alright." He moved the hair out of his eyes, revealing their bright red color, which reminded her of her brother. "So I've heard you recently broke up with Ganondorf."

"Yeah…" She mumbled, fiddling with her fingers. "Are you two friends…?"

"Not in particular. Colleagues, if anything." He took a sip of what looked like water. "He causes too much trouble in my opinion."

"Exactly." Zelda rolled her eyes. She looked at the seemingly nice man and sighed. "Listen, I don't know what Dark told you about me, but right now I'm not really looking for anything too serious. You seem like a pretty nice guy, so I don't want to lead you on or something."

"No worries, I expected so." She could've sworn she saw a smirk. "Personally, I believe in taking things as fast or as slow as the lady likes it."

They continued to speak for a few minutes until he glanced at his watch and sighed.

"It was very nice talking with you, but I have to go now. I have work in the morning." She nodded, understanding the situation. He began to walk away, but stopped after a step or two and turned back to Zelda. "If you'd like, you can give me a call." He handed her a slip of paper before he strode away. She looked down at the paper, took a deep breath, and stuck it in her pocket before going to find her friends.

It took a while, but she soon found them on a couch in the living room. Sheik had his arm wrapped around Malon, and Dark sat on another couch with Midna. Link was sitting on the coffee table in front of them. Zelda's breath got caught in her throat.

"Hey, Zelda!" Midna laughed, waving at her to come over. Zelda didn't move, and just continued to stare at Link.

"Zelda…" He mumbled, standing up. When she saw him move, she darted away. The four others gave each other confused looks.

"Is she mad at you?" Sheik asked Link when he returned to his original position.

"Probably." He shrugged, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

"Why? She never is upset at you in the way that she can't even be near you." Dark chuckled. "She usually lets you know exactly what she's pissed about."

"Did something happen when you guys hung out?" Sheik asked, knowing it was the last time the two saw or talked to each other.

"…Not that I remember." Link's cheeks began to have a pink tinge to them, which only Midna was able to catch up on. She raised an eyebrow at him, but stayed silent.

"Maybe she is mad that you don't want her to move in with you." Malon suggested, only to receive a strange stare from Link.

"What?" He asked, honestly confused. "She never asked me if she could move in."

"She said that you had a personal reason why she couldn't stay with you." She continued to explain. Link seemed to understand and stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to her." He stated. He went searching through the crowd, greeting the people he knew along the way. He made it into the kitchen, which happened to be the only place in the apartment that wasn't crowded.

"Zelda…" Link mumbled, looking towards the girl who had her back to him.

"Just go away, Link." She spat, still not turning to look back at him. "I know what you want to talk to me about, and I just want to forget about it."

"Me too." He stated, fiddling with his fingers. "It didn't… mean anything to you, right?"

"No, no… of course not." She finally turned her head, but her eyes were downcast. "I really don't want something stupid that happened when we were drunk end our friendship."

"Exactly!" He gave a small smile. "I am glad that you feel the same way I do… I was praying to Hylia you wouldn't want to end our friendship because of this mess."

"You really think that I would give up on you for something so stupid?" Zelda laughed. She moved closer to Link and began to lean on the counter. "We have been through so much worse. You mean too much to me to just throw away just because something… unexpected happened." She sighed. "I love you, man." She chuckled and lightly punched his arm. "As a friend, of course."

"I can say the same." He smiled as he mocked her by rubbing the spot she punched. They sat in silence for a bit before he crossed his arms. "So, Malon says that I don't want you to move in with me?"

"Oh that?" She waved her hand, embarrassed. "That's nothing…"

"Were you going to ask if I could move in with you?"

"Uh, ummm…" She scratched that back of her head. "Yeah… Once Ganon and I broke up I was staying in a hotel, and I was going to ask if I could move in with you, but I didn't obviously, so I've been staying at Malon and Sheik's. Which, as you can imagine with them getting married in a few months, is not exactly pleasant."

"Ah, I get it." Link laughed, knowing the couple very well. "Ya know, you can move in if you'd like…friend."

"Really?" She stood up straight, grinning.

"Of course! I have a spare room that hasn't been in use since your brother moved out. As long as you don't mind me practicing all the time, I think living together could be fun."

"I wouldn't mind your practicing because you sound great." Zelda said. The two began to walk back to the rest of their friends.

"I am a professional, after all." Link shrugged. "If I didn't sound good, both me and Midna would be out of a job."

"And I am pretty sure you can deal with me." She stated as she went to fill a cup with soda. "I may be naggy, but I'll help make sure _our_ apartment is presentable… for the most part."

They returned to their friends laughing, and the rest were happy to see they were back on good terms. After explaining to them that they had some sort of misunderstanding, which had been completely made up by them on the spot, the others didn't suspect a thing.

It was towards the end of the night when they all began to leave.

"I'll come over early tomorrow to help move your things over to my place." Link told Zelda. "How does seven sound?"

"If you're coming that early, you might as well stay over!" Sheik joked, making the slightly intoxicated Malon burst into a fit of giggles.

"Nah, I think I'm good." The other man shook his head.

"Besides, where would he sleep?" Zelda laughed nervously. Sheik gave them a weird look.

"Definitely not with you, Zel. I'd kill him before I let you that happen!" He chuckled. The two gave each other a worried glance, silently agreeing to never, _ever_ tell Sheik about what had transpired between the two less than a week ago.

"Uh-huh. But I think that I should go home." Link wrung his wrists as he answered. Zelda meekly nodded towards him.

"Seven sounds good."

They all returned to their respective homes for a good night sleep before the move. Link arrived on time and helped Zelda finish packing her bags. She didn't have a lot of stuff, and most of it was still packed, so it didn't take very long. After a nice, big breakfast made by Malon, the two headed off.

"Again, thank you so much for doing this for me." Zelda said, waiting for a taxi to pull over for them.

"It's no problem, seriously. Stop thanking me!" Link chuckled in response.

"But you saved me from living with the obnoxious couple or Midna." She stretched her arms. "I cannot thank you _enough_!"

"Anything for my new roommate, and my best friend." He smiled as a taxi stopped, allowing them in. She went to pick up the suitcases to place in the trunk, but Link stopped her with his hand. "I got it." He stated. Smiling, she watched as he effortlessly picked up the bags. She bit her lip as she saw his arms flex. Her mind flashed back to that night, and her falling asleep and waking up in those strong arms.

She shook her head, forcing herself to forget about it. _C'mon, Zelda. This is Link you're looking at; your older brother's dorky friend. He may have gotten cute now that he's older, but it's still him. Just… shake it off. No big deal. _She hopped in the back seat and he got inside soon after. He gave her a weird look before he combed his fingers through her hair. Zelda's cheeks began to feel warm.

"Sorry, your hair got a little messed up from the wind." He laughed that beautiful laugh of his, shaking his own hair out of his eyes. Those gorgeous blue eyes that were just the right shade.

Zelda forced herself to look away as he gave the cab driver directions. She let out a hard breath. _It's just… Link…_

* * *

_Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I believe that in the next one we will start getting into the main story. And I apologize for my attempt at humor... if you could even call it that. There's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, where it is though I won't say. _

_Again, sorry this took so long to get out. I was going to finish writing this last weekend, but I was too busy... okay I am going to be honest I was procrastinating on Tumblr. But, although I can't promise I won't do it again, I will try my hardest not to!_

_ - Kreszentenia_


	4. Chapter Four: The Date

_You guys are so good to me! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! Hope you like this chapter. _

* * *

_**Friends with Benefits  
**_

_**Chapter Four : The Date  
**_

* * *

_[ Zelda's POV ]_

"Vaati will be here soon, so when he gets here just let him in, okay?" I told Link, who was stuffing his face with popcorn while watching a new movie with Nabooru Spirit in it.

"You're going out with Vaati again?" He belched unattractively before continuing. "I don't like him."

"C'mon, you've barely met him." I rolled my eyes. Link, and all of my other friends for that matter, were always judgmental of my various boyfriends.

"I only needed to talk to him for a minute to figure him out." He paused the movie and turned to me. "He's a douche bag and a sexist."

"Don't those two things go hand in hand usually?" I called from the bathroom. Looking away from the mirror, I saw Link had followed me and was now leaning on our bathroom door's frame.

After a week and a half of living in Link's apartment, I went out on a date with Vaati, a guy I met at Dark's party. He seemed cool, so much different than Ganondorf was. I didn't think it would hurt to go out on another date a week later. I didn't really see anything too bad about him, but Link always manages to criticize something.

"Exactly." He commented, cracking his knuckles. "He thinks he is so much better than everyone else. You can just tell he is judging you by the way he looks at you." He paused as he stood up straight again, crossing his arms in annoyance. "And with the whole sexist thing… he definitely thinks that women are completely submissive to him."

"You've got him all figured out." I said sarcastically.

"Of course I do, Zel. I always have to have your back." He chuckled and returned to his spot on the couch. "Who else will always be here to protect you from jerks?"

"Um, my brother?" I answered, poking my head out of the doorway.

"Not anymore. Now that Malon is in the picture, you're number two on his list." I went silent, knowing this was true. Link gave me a sad look. "It's not like I am saying you're not important to him anymore… you are. You're his sister. But now his future wife is the most important woman to him." He shrugged. "And right now, what with me not having a family and all, you're the only girl I can and will take care of."

"What about when your future girlfriend is around?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"She's going to have to be pretty damn amazing to beat you in my eyes, Zel." He chuckled, turning the movie back on. Luckily, he didn't notice the heat that was now radiating from my cheeks.

Almost as if on cue, there was a knock at the door. I looked through the peephole to see Vaati standing there, as expected. I opened the door with a smile.

"Hey, Vaati! It's nice to see you again!" I greeted him happily.

"Yeah." He mumbled, showing no emotion as usual. I couldn't tell if this was how he always was, or if he was just bored and uninterested whenever I saw him. "Hello, Link." He stated coldly to my roommate.

"Hey, man." He also tried grinning at him, although it was very clearly not genuine.

"So, this is your apartment." He said, looking around, still being very aloof. I nodded. He had been in here before, but it was very brief; not enough time to look around. "Do either of you ever clean?"

When I heard that, I could hear Link's quiet sigh, showing how annoyed he was at the man.

"We try our hardest to keep everything neat, but we're out most of the time." I sighed, "What with me being an assistant teacher and Link being a musician, is gets kind of hard."

"Mm-hmm." He murmured. He glanced at the wall clock and sighed. "We should get going. We have a reservation."

"Right, right." I chuckled and grabbed my coat. I waved goodbye to Link, who looked annoyed, and we left.

* * *

We had gone off to dinner at the Lumpy Pumpkin, which was pretty out of the way but it was very nice. The meal was pretty quiet, with small talk in between eating. It was comfortable for the most part until there was an incident halfway through. While waiting for the main course and for Vaati to return for the restroom, I heard a voice that I hadn't heard in years.

"My, my! Do my eyes deceive me, or is it _the_ Zelda Harkinian?" The laughing voice exclaimed rather loudly. I gasped out of shock and turned to see the one and only Groose standing a few feet behind me.

"Wow, Groose. I haven't seen you since high school!" I smiled, somewhat warily. You see, he had been a Loftwing jock and had a massive crush on me. I never really liked him as more than a friend (if even that), especially because he was extremely mean to Link. He told me later that he was jealous of our relationship, especially when Link beat him in a Loftwing race. The two eventually did become friends, but we drifted apart when we graduated.

"So, what are you doing here? It is pretty far from Castle Town." He grabbed a seat from an empty table so he could talk to me.

"Ah, I'm… on a date." He raised his eyebrows, suspicious. His expression looked somewhat mischievous, but he said nothing. Smiling, I asked, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Remember Peatrice?" I nodded. She had a major crush on Link back in high school, but he didn't feel the same towards her. "Well, we were on a date. We're still going out."

"Oh my gods!" I gasped, smiling broadly. "That's so great!" I remember when they first started going out. I never learned if this was true or not, but I'd heard that they said they were going out to make Link and I jealous of them. This clearly didn't work out, but they found each other in the meantime.

"Heh, yeah..." He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "I was thinking about asking her to marry me, but I'm not sure…"

"Oh, wow…" I sighed. I would have never expected Groose of all people to be in such a serious relationship, let alone getting married. And before me, too! "This is just my opinion of course, but I feel like if you are ready to spend the rest of your life with her and she feels the same, you should."

"Thanks, Zelda." He chuckled a bit before standing up. I stood up as well, and he pulled me into a quick hug. Before he was able to pull away, I heard Vaati's voice.

"Zelda." He said, his speech completely monotone. I jumped back, slightly embarrassed. Groose looked at him and crossed his arms. His happy expression faded somewhat, but he didn't look mad. Maybe… disappointed? Why would he be disappointed?

"Ah, you're back from the bathroom." I pointed to Groose, who had stayed still during this. "Just saw an old friend. Vaati, this is Groose… Groose, this is Vaati." I had tried introducing them, but their demeanors stayed the same.

"Uh-huh." Vaati commented, somewhat uninterested. He sat down. "Sit. Our food will be coming soon."

"Oh, right…" I mumbled, quietly obeying. I turned to smile at Groose, who didn't look any happier. "It was really nice seeing you."

"Yeah, it was. You're still hanging around Link, right?" His mouth curved into a slight grin, but it didn't seem totally genuine. I nodded in response to his question. "Tell him I said hi, then." He waved slightly before beginning to walk off.

"Good luck with Peatrice!" I called, giggling at his blushing face. I turned back to my own date who was definitely not as happy as I was.

The waiter soon came and placed down our food. We ate in silence, a very uncomfortable aura settling around us. I began to pick at the last few pieces. Vaati was staring at his empty plate. He probably hadn't even looked at me since our food came. Finally, when I had enough of this, I sighed.

"What's wrong, Vaati?" I pried, setting down my fork and placing my hands in my lap. "You haven't said anything for a while now."

"Please do _not_ flirt with other people when you are on a date with me." He commanded, eyes shooting up to meet my own. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me?"

"That guy that was here before; 'Goose' or something." He stabbed his fork in the direction of the door. "You were flirting with him."

"I was not!" I defended myself. Who did he think he was? "He's an old friend, and that's all. I have never thought of _Groose_ as anything more than that."

"Hmph." He grunted. The waiter came and placed down the check. "If we are going to continue to see each other, I'd prefer if you do not speak with other men in my presence." I didn't know how to respond to that, and my jaw was left open in pure shock. "I already hate how you are living with _Link_ and you talking about him all the time, as well as your other male friends. I don't want to hear about even more." I crossed my arms in annoyance. "In fact, I think it'd be best for the both of us if you move out of that small, dirty apartment and cut ties from them all."

"What makes you think that you can just boss me around like this?" I threw my hands out in exasperation.

"If you want to be my girlfriend – " His response was cut off by me ripping the check from his hands.

"Maybe I don't want to be your girlfriend, then." I quickly paid for my portion of the dinner and slammed it down on the table. "Thank you for dinner. The food was nice, but the company was a bit rude." I began to storm out, before turning back and adding, "No, scratch that; the company was absolutely horrendous. I hope you know that I will not be calling you again."

And with that, I left. I didn't care how expensive getting a bus from the outer edges of Skyloft to the heart of Castle Town would be; I refused to be around that jerk any longer. Who did he think he was? He was telling me to move out of Link's apartment on our second date?

_Why do I keep doing this to myself? _I thought as I climbed onto the bus. _Are all guys so… over-possessive and controlling? _I felt my phone vibrate and noticed I got a text from Link, asking how the date was going. Not answering, I smiled down at the device. _No… Link isn't… he may be protective, but not to the point where it's unbearable. _I sighed and stuffed it back into my pocket. _What am I thinking… this is Link we're talking about. The lazy, dirty, never-serious, funny… cute… Link… my best friend, who I now know is fantastic in bed. _Placing my hand on my forehead, I scolded myself for thinking such thoughts.

I would be lying if I said that I'd never thought of Link in a romantic, if not loving, way. But, I would never, _ever_ consider dating him. It would ruin too many things. _What if we break up? _I'd ask myself._ I can't just cut ties when it comes to Link. For years, I'd see him, knowing that we never worked out. We'd never go back to normal. I don't want to lose my best friend since elementary school because of stupid feelings like these. _

I leaned my head back, gently bumping against the window of the moving vehicle. I watched Castle Town slowly come over the horizon. _Besides, we'd never work out. We disagree on too many things… it's fine with friends, but it'd drive us crazy if we dated. _I remembered how he's told me that he hated that I over-analyzed things, always lectured him on things that weren't important, and made him work. And it's not just me; Link has the ability to drive me up a wall as well. He's lazy, feels like cleaning up isn't necessary, can be pretty obnoxious, and can never stop making jokes.

Then, I remembered the night we spent together. Even though I was extremely drunk, I couldn't help but be reminded of how great it was and how amazing I felt. Through the last two weeks I have, on numerous occasions, been tempted to just press him against the wall and kiss him and run my hands all over that perfect body of his as he did the same for me. Each time I had to stop whatever I was doing just to remind myself of who I was thinking about. _Link_. My brother's obnoxious friend who had a knack for pissing me off. _My_ best friend, who grew so much throughout the years and was able to pull off 'sweet and innocent' and 'blunt and dirty-minded' at the same time.

I couldn't keep my mind off the subject of him, and how perfect he was yet so un-perfect at the same time. Patiently waiting for the doors of the elevator to open, I didn't know what I was doing or thinking. I definitely didn't love him or anything close to it, yet I found myself undeniably attracted to him.

Finally making it to my floor, I sped to our apartment and knocked on the door, not wanting to search for my keys. Within a minute or two, Link opened the door in just his pajama bottoms, chest exposed, giving me a confused look.

"Why didn't you use your key?" He asked, but I didn't say anything. I just stood there; staring at him in (almost) all of his glory. "And I texted you before… bad date, huh?" He chuckled at himself, but stopped short as he saw my staring eyes. "Uh… Zelda? You okay?"

Without hesitation, I threw my arms around his neck, quickly pulling him into a rough kiss. My body was going completely against my mind, and I loved every bit of it.

* * *

_Ooooh, wonder what's gonna happen next? It's probably pretty easy to guess, though. _

_I'm replaying Ocarina of Time... I forgot how much I love this game! Right now it's my 3rd favorite in the series, but I might bump it up to second. Skyward Sword is 1st, and Majora's Mask is 2nd for the time being... What's all of your favorite game in the series?  
_

_ - Kreszentenia  
_


	5. Chapter Five: The Arrangement

_**EDIT:: **I needed to go back and change something that A Shadow's Lament pointed out... apparently I said that Link was wearing pajama pants, but thenI said he was wearing jeans... whoops! Thanks~  
_

_Sorry abou__t such a long wait for this chapter! I wanted to have it out sooner but things kept getting in the way. I was sick all last week and even trying to read made my mind go crazy, so I couldn't write. I had a funeral anniversary thing to go to on Sunday. Don't worry, it was for my great uncle who died 25 years ago, and my family has a little get together every 5 years for it. _

_But anyway, on with the chapter!_

* * *

**_Friends with Benefits_**

**_Chapter Five : The Arrangement  
_**

* * *

At first, Link was in shock at the girl that was suddenly kissing him. He soon found himself deepening the kiss, wrapping his arms around her tiny figure. But, when realization hit him, he reluctantly pushed her off of him.

"Zel… Zelda…" He murmured between large breaths. He went to close the front door, knowing better than to leave it open. "What… what was that?"

"I don't know…" She mumbled. Her face turned a bright shade of red. "After a _horrible_ date with Vaati, I got to thinking…"

"Do you like me or something?!" Link, getting extremely nervous, began to think. He knew that he's had quite a few dreams involving Zelda in a less-than-innocent way, but he always blamed it on hormones and being somewhat lonely. But he never thought of them dating, or even these fantasies coming true in the slightest.

"No, I don't like you… I don't think so." She said. Her arms began to wrap around herself, cold from being out of his arms. "It's just… I am so sick of relationships! And…" She got a devious smile and reached to run a hand down his chest. He swallowed hard, but did not stop her or complain. "You can't deny that the night we spent together was amazing."

"So…" He gulped, "What are you suggesting?" He had a feeling he knew what she wanted, but he didn't want to make any assumptions that would make her mad.

"I was thinking that we could be more than friends, but not dating." Giving him a quick kiss, she smiled up at him. "What do you think?"

Link was still not quite positive about what she meant. "You mean, we'd, like, um… we'll be friends, who, um… We'd, uh…" Zelda groaned and rolled her eyes.

"We'd be friends who sleep together!" She stamped her foot in aggravation. "Are you in or not?"

He stared at her blankly for a second or two, before smirking. He cupped her face in his hands, crushing her lips against his. Her mouth soon opened, and his tongue slid into it. He began to explore her mouth, but she pulled away.

"I am guessing that's a yes?" Zelda asked, breathily.

Kissing her quickly, Link answers, "Only a crazy man would say no." She giggled and kisses him again. While making out, he led her over to the old, worn-out couch, pressing her down on it gently. He unlatches his lips from hers, causing her to give him a confused look.

"Is… something wrong?" She asked, sitting up.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong." He searched for the words to explain what he was thinking. "Shouldn't we put down some ground rules?"

"Now?" She groaned.

"Yeah… I think we should both agree to some things so we know what we are getting into." He thought for a moment. "First things first, if either of us starts getting feelings for each other…"

"We'll call it off." Zelda answered him. She was getting impatient with this.

"And the same if one of us starts to date someone else."

"Yeah, yeah. I think that's enough rules." Zelda grinned, pushing his head down to meet hers. After a bit of kissing, she thought of something else. "And another rule; nothing _too_ weird." Winking, she added in, "Unless we both agree to it beforehand."

"Ah, good. I was thinking the same thing, but you didn't seem like you wanted to talk about it anymore." Link chuckled. "Also, we shouldn't tell anyone else about this."

"_Especially_ my brother and Malon." She knew how the two of them would be with this information. "Midna and Dark I think would be better with this, if we _had_ to tell someone."

"Definitely." And they went back to their previous actions. Her legs wrapped around his own, bringing them even closer.

Chuckling, Zelda removed herself from his lips and began licking the shell of his ear. His bare arms, which had been resting on her sides, soon shook and he had to move so that he could keep himself up with one. The other wrapped around her, making sure that she stayed where she was.

"Hm… you liked that, didn't you?" She giggled darkly. Link rolled his eyes.

He brought his lips to her shoulder, at first just kissing the skin, but he eventually began to suck and bite at it. She gripped onto his arm out of a little bit of pain but mostly pleasure.

"You liked that, didn't you?" He mocked her.

"Shut up." She commented. _Link will never change. _

His hands skimmed down to the end of her pink tank top. He slid them beneath the fabric, tickling the skin underneath. She giggled at the feeling of his fingers trailing up her shirt to cup her breasts. Moving her own hands down to his worn out pajama bottoms. Knowing him, he's had them since high school, or at least college.

Link raised his head to latch himself back on her lips, the lip gloss that had been on there almost completely gone. He took a moment to just taste how wonderful her mouth was. He could definitely get used to this.

His hands ran around her bare waist, snaking up to the clasp of her bra. Removing it along with her shirt, he drank in the sight of Zelda's naked chest. Sure, he's seen it before, but he was pretty drunk and didn't get to fully appreciate her beauty. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into another heated kiss. She had gotten annoyed with him just staring at her breasts, and wanted to continue what they were doing.

Zelda began to press her chest against his own, her hands slowly moving down to his lower back. She started to slide her hands underneath the fabric that was blocking her way, but Link suddenly felt distant against her lips. Sighing internally, she moved her mouth away from his.

"What's wrong?" She questioned. She _really _didn't want what was happening to be interrupted.

"Uh…" He blushed a little as he looked away from her annoyed eyes.

She didn't really want to ask him if this was fine again, but she felt she had to. "If you don't want to do this just tell me now, it'll be – "

"No, no! That's not it." She raised an eyebrow, as if asking him what he felt weird about. "Did you drink anything tonight?"

"I had a glass of deluded wine, but that's it." Chuckling, she added, "Definitely not enough to make me drunk and stupid." Reaching her right hand up to run her fingers through his soft hair, she gave him a somewhat innocent smile. "If you're worried that this will ruin what we have, I promise you it won't. I'm in my mind enough to know I want this and I want you. I won't regret it."

"That's what I was hoping for." He bent down to capture her lips in his, and they were off once again.

Holding himself up with his right hand, his other went down to gently massage her breast. She moaned into his mouth, the corners of his lips curving into a smirk. She managed to get his pajama pants off with ease. Her fingernails gently scratched his thighs, trailing up towards his hips.

He shivered from her touch, and he shifted his hand down to work on her jeans. After fumbling with the button for a little bit, he finally managed to loosen the pants and get them off her. Just when she thought things were getting really good, he rushed off to his room. Leaning on her arms, she looked over the back of the couch.

"Li-Link… what are you doing?" Zelda called out. He returned, holding a small square in his hand. She blushed with the realization. She wasn't so much embarrassed that he was holding a condom, but that she hadn't even thought about it. When he got back to the couch, he slapped the package onto the coffee table and climbed back onto the beautiful, almost-naked girl.

"You are really forgetful, huh?" His laugh was low. As she looked up into his blue eyes, she noticed how they were filled with lust. She knew that her eyes had the same look to them now.

Link had begun to suck and bite at the pulse point on her neck, leading her to groan in pleasure. Her fingernails dug into the skin of his back, and she was sure that if she hadn't cut her nails earlier that she could have made him bleed. His hands traveled to beneath her panties, cupping her butt. Her fingers started to dance along his sides, moving to his chest, gently caressing his abs. When she felt him touching the inside of her thighs, she gasped, feeling the lust take over her.

"Dear goddesses, Link…" She sighed, her own hands teasingly moving towards the rim of his boxers. He froze as she slipped them underneath the fabric, but soon continued his endeavors. He hooked his thumbs beneath her underwear to pull it off, but she stopped him. "Not yet." She commanded before gripping his penis from inside of his boxers. He grunted with the contact, gripping onto the edge of the couch. She slid her hands up and down his length, giggling at his response.

"Sweet Din…" He mumbled, burying his head in her shoulder.

"Nice, isn't it?" Zelda laughed, nudging his face up and violently pressing her lips against his. She continued pleasuring him during their tongue battle. They managed to get both of their remaining clothes off, and he slipped on the condom. Without hesitation, he pushed into her. Her legs spread wider, her mind beginning to go blank.

After getting back into the rhythm they had established, she met each of his thrusts without fail. Her legs wrapped around his back, causing him to push even deeper into her. Zelda's fingers got caught up in his wild dirty blonde hair, keeping his lips against hers, only pulling away occasionally to breathe.

They were eventually unable to keep in their moans that grew louder and louder with each thrust. Link's hands had been holding her back, keeping her in place. But, knowing it'd drive her over the edge, he reached down and began to rub her clit.

"Oh my gods, Link!" She cried out. And at that moment, he hit that spot he had found the last time. If she wasn't sure she was ready for this before, she was positive now. Link was perfect with this.

They both reached their climaxes, him coming shortly after hers. Their naked bodies slowed down and soon stopped. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his face into her hair. After relaxing for a minute, he felt her shiver. The cold air that was settling around them caused this. He reached for a blanket, and covered them both.

"We probably… should get to our beds…" Zelda mumbled, completely exhausted from their round. He chuckled at her comment.

"Yeah, we should…" Link agreed before he gently turned her head with his hand. "Or, we could just lie here together all night." A small snicker appeared on his face. She shook her head, but didn't move from their position. When they were silent for a minute, Link was sure she had fallen asleep, but she hadn't.

"I'm so glad we decided to do this." She yawned as she spoke. He laughed.

"I agree." He said. He was really exhausted and wanted to give in and go to sleep, but he wanted to stay awake longer than Zelda did.

"I should know better than to tell you this due to your already massive ego, but you're probably the best I've been with." It was true. All her previous boyfriends didn't have the pure passion that Link had in bed.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it makes up for my lackluster personality." He really didn't have a high self-esteem. He just liked to act like he did as a joke. Apparently it was pretty believable if he got Zelda fooled.

"Aw, c'mon. Your personality isn't lackluster." She placed her palm to his cheek, turning his head to face her. "I think you're really sweet and any girl would be lucky to have you."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief. He could feel a bit of pink grace his cheeks, but luckily in the darkness she couldn't see it.

"Of course! That's why you're my best friend." She chuckled and gave him a quick peck. She resumed her previous position. "Dear sweet Nayru I am tired… Good night!"

Link felt himself sighing when she fell asleep. But, why? He didn't like her, and they had the perfect arrangement. Any guy would feel awesome to have a friends-with-benefits relationship with a girl like Zelda, but he didn't feel that way. _This will be harder to adjust to than I thought it would be. _

* * *

_So yup. Second lemon in this fic with many more to come! I'd love criticism on them. I have written quite a few, but these are the first I've posted. So, if you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to leave them!  
_

_I have a couple of ideas for one shots that will probably be T rated at most, so look out for them if you'd like!  
_

_- Kreszentenia  
_

_(By the way, you can call me Kristen if you'd like. Much easier to write/remember than Kreszentenia.)  
_


	6. Chapter Six: Life Goes On

_Ugh, I am so sorry for such a long wait. October is my busiest month, and I never had time to write. And every time I was able to come online, I got distracted by YouTube or Tumblr. Or both at once. Or dress up games.  
_

_But let's not keep you waiting... on with the story!  
_

* * *

_**Friends with Benefits**  
_

_**Chapter Six : Life Goes On  
**_

* * *

_[ Link's POV ]_

I shivered as my eyes opened. I heard the ticking of a clock, and saw that it was two in the morning. Before I tried going back to sleep, I realized the situation I was in; naked, on the couch, alone.

"Zelda?" My weak voice came out, remembering what had happened right before he fallen asleep. My eyes struggled to make out objects in the darkness, but they were starting to adjust.

"Link? You awake?" The voice came from my room. I stood and found my discarded pair of boxers and slid them on, walking to the main bedroom.

"Yeah… why are you in here?" I looked down and saw Zelda being covered by the sheets, her hair splayed out over the pillows. I gulped.

"Sorry… I had woken up a little while ago and I was freezing, so I put on some pajamas and came in here." She sat up to talk to me better, but I forced myself to not stare at her. "I thought about waking you up, but you looked so peaceful that I didn't have the heart to." She laughed gently. It was a beautiful sound.

"But why did you come in _here_?" I didn't know what the boundaries of our agreement were… would we also sleep together? I feel like that would be pushing it, and I couldn't really handle much more.

"Your room is warmer than mine." She fell back onto the mattress with a sigh. "And the bed is softer." Zelda turned to face me, looking like she was about to fall asleep again. "You can, uh, join me if you'd like… it's your room after all." I had at first hesitated, letting what she was saying sink in. I was about to respond until she said, "Unless you want me to leave, which would be fine. I mean, it's your bed after all…"

"No, no, it's fine… What's mine is yours, I guess…" I grumbled, plopping on the other side of the bed. "I just didn't know if this was against the rules of our agreement."

"If you say it's fine, then I say it's fine." She shrugged, looking for my approval.

"I think it's okay." Pausing, I added, "But no cuddling or anything…"

"Of course, of course!" She chuckled.

We soon fell silent, both of us lying there and waiting for the other to say something. I found an enjoyment with staring at my ceiling as she twiddled her thumbs. Taking a deep breath, I decided to break the silence.

"Well, we said we'd meet up with everyone tomorrow at Telma's, so we should probably get to sleep."

"Oh yeah, definitely!" She nodded. We found ourselves staring at each other again, but I turned to face the other side of the room.

"So, uh… night." I whispered.

She shifted a bit before responding, "Night."

* * *

_[ Zelda's POV ]_

I wasn't surprised when I woke up first. Link always had a knack for waking up after me, and ever since I had moved in I pretty much became his alarm clock. He's always loved to sleep in, ever since we were kids. Taking the hour or so of free time, I decided to jump in the shower before Link used up all the hot water.

My mind began to wander as I finished up. _Is this really a good idea?_ I stepped out onto the cold tiles and wrapped a towel around my naked body, sighing. _It surely feels great, but what if something happens? I may have been easy to start this, but it might not be as easy to end it if we have to. _I drained the water from my hair, staring at my tired face in the mirror.

_But what if it doesn't end? Ever? _

I held my face in my hands, getting annoyed with my own mind. I was sure that Link would never want such a serious relationship so soon with someone like _me_. And I was almost positive that I would never want to date, let alone marry, Link of all people.

_Right? _

The door slammed open, nearly causing me to fall back onto the tile. I clutched my towel, trying to figure out what I could throw at the intruder. Grabbing the curling iron, I held it up, attempting to compose myself.

"Woah, there, Zelda!" Link, who was apparently the intruder, was caught off guard by me. He raised his hands in front of him in defense, one of them gripping onto the curling iron. "Let's just set that down…"

"Dear Goddesses, Link!" I yelped, getting madder by the second. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to." He walked towards the toilet, reaching toward his boxers…

"Um, dude!" I was totally baffled. Almost everyone knows that Link can be kind of ditzy in the early hours, but this is way worse than normal.

"What?" He looked just as confused as I was.

"Please wait until I leave before you go to the bathroom!"

He looked down at the toilet before giving me a sad look. "But I need to pee."

"Yes, I know, but let me leave first." I rolled my eyes and left the room. I went to go finish getting ready.

I put on a purple tank top with a white skirt that went down to my knees. My triforce earrings were put in their normal place, along with a blue pendant I've had since I was little. A matching purple headband was placed in my now dry hair, which was curled at the ends. Thinking about what shoes I would wear, I left my room.

When I got out of my bedroom, Link was sitting at the small kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal, an empty bottle of Lon Lon Milk next to him.

"Sorry about before…" He mumbled, but didn't seem embarrassed. My cheeks gained a red tint as I scratched the back of my neck.

"Don't worry about it."

"It's just… I assumed our relationship lacks… most boundaries now, so…" He looked to his side to see the empty bottle. "There's more milk in the fridge if you want some…"

* * *

_[ 3__rd__ Person ]_

A while later, they left to go to Telma's to meet up with their friends just as they had planned.

"Ugh, that sounds terrible." Link grimaced at the story Zelda was telling as they walked up to the elevator at the end of the hall.

"It was. I know they're getting married soon, but they should have more decency." She held her head in her hands, reliving the annoyance she felt. "You'd think they'd know better because I had been living with them."

"Your brother is pretty smart, but when it comes to being with Malon he's a moron." Link chuckled uncomfortably, "I can't tell you how many times that a similar situation happened to me during college when we were roommates."

"Very charming story you two, but can you _please_ hit the button for the elevator. I tire of waiting." An annoying voice behind them complained. They both turned to see their tall neighbor standing there.

"Ghirahim." Link crossed his arms.

Zelda knew now why he found him so obnoxious; he came over at least three times a week to whine about something. _"I can hear your stereo from the back of my apartment." _or _"That movie is terrible. Don't watch it; otherwise I have to listen to it." _

Ghirahim scowled at Link for a second, but then brightened up when he saw the woman beside him.

"Ah, Zelda. It's so nice to see you." For some reason, he liked her much more than him. Or, at least, he makes it seem that way. "But, didn't I tell you to keep it down the last time?" They both gave the gray-skinned man confused looks. "To be quieter with your little… moments?"

"Oh, right…" Her face flushed.

"I could barely sleep last night with you two. Just when I thought you were all done, you started talking." He bent down to their level and pointed to his eyes. "Look at the bags under my eyes."

"I think you're confusing your dumb purple eyeliner with bags." Link chuckled. He glared at him, but ignored the comment. "C'mon, Zel. We'll take the stairs."

They could feel Ghirahim's glare burn holes into their backs as they walked away, but they stayed silent until they were at a safe distance.

"I can't believe you're able to live next to him!" Zelda groaned. "He gets way to into your personal business."

"I know, right?!" Link's face went from irritated to confused. "But the weird part is that he never submits complaints. I'm very happy about that, don't get me wrong, but it makes me wonder if he does it just to bother me."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Zelda rolled her eyes.

They climbed into a taxi, giving the driver the directions and they sped off. Link had been looking out the window when they reached a stop light, and he pointed out a store to Zelda.

"I should bring you in there sometime. They've got these really cool masks I think you'd like!"

"Haha, I don't think so." She shook her head. "I went in there once, and the salesman scared me. I know you're friends with him, but he gives me the creeps."

"He's a really nice guy though." Link countered and she shrugged. "He may be a bit moody and suspicious, but he helped me out a lot a while back."

"With what?"

Hearing her question made his face go red, and he turned away from her.

"Uh… I'd rather not talk about it. It's kind of embarrassing." He chuckled.

She raised her eyebrows in confusion, but decided to drop the conversation.

They arrived at Telma's pretty quickly, but were still late but Zelda's standards. They walked into their normal hangout area, and saw the woman who the place was named after. She greeted them happily, took their orders, and showed them to wear their friends had settled. The afternoon meet up had been going pretty well until…

"You seem in a good mood today. Did your date go well?" Malon asked innocently.

"Nah, it went horribly." She shrugged, taking a sip of the water she had.

"Then why are you so happy now?" She asked.

"I don't know… I just am." Zelda smiled, but it faded when she saw Link giving her a cocky smile.

"Really?" He questioned, mischievousness on his face as he took a sip from his red potion. "You have no idea?"

"Nope." She held back a smirk. "Nothing big happened."

Midna and Dark exchanged a glance, both questioning what was happening. Malon and Sheik seemed oblivious to the weird tension that was beginning to settle.

"Aw, c'mon you're lying Zel!" Malon laughed, tapping her friend on the arm. "The date _did_ go well, didn't it?"

"It definitely didn't go well. I know that for a fact." Link leaned on the back legs of his chair, trying his hardest to not laugh.

"Link…" Zelda grumbled a warning. Red was starting to dye her cheeks. She used her foot to forcibly put Link's chair back on all four of its legs. At this point, Midna and Dark knew that something was up, but kept their mouths shut, and Sheik was interested in why his sister was so mad at Link.

"As soon as she got home, she begged and begged for me," He deliberately paused here, and the way he said this made both of the Harkinian siblings glare at him. He took a deep breath before continuing, "to make her a big dinner so she could eat her sadness out."

"Link!" Zelda yelped, surprised by his lie.

"I didn't really want to. I mean, I was tired and I don't normally… make her dinner, but I was weak so I gave in." He cracked his knuckles. "I must admit though, I am a pretty good… cook."

At this point, Zelda's face was as red as a tomato. The others thought she was embarrassed that Link told them she ate her feelings out over a guy she had only gone on one other date with, but they both knew what was really making her flustered.

"Wow, I didn't know you were the type to emotionally eat." Midna said in disbelief. The two of their families had been friendly since they were kids, and they were practically sisters. They knew almost everything about each other, so Midna was surprised she didn't know this yet.

"Guess she is." Link chuckled. "Because secretly, Zelda is a closet… food-addict."

Zelda had tried her best to hide the 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' face, but it was all in vain at this point.

_So this is how you're going to play? Well, Link Forester… game on. _

* * *

_This chapter is a bit shorter than the ones before it because I cut it off. The rest of it will be in the next one, which I think I'll start writing as soon as I post this! I live in New York, so I might lose power for a few days once it comes. But that means I won't be able to get distracted by the internet! Woo!  
_

_Anyways, I would say that the next chapter won't take as long, but I can't promise anything.  
_

_So, if you like the story, feel free to follow, favorite, or even review~ Thanks!  
_

_~ Kreszentenia  
_


	7. Chapter Seven: Footsie

_If you saw the one-shot I posted, you'd know that I lost power for a week and a half and didn't have internet until last week. _

* * *

_**Friends with Benefits**_

_**Chapter Seven : Footsie  
**_

* * *

It was nearly impossible to not notice the mischievous look that Zelda had on her face. Or, at least, to Link it was. The rest of their friends seemed totally oblivious to it. Link couldn't even figure out what she was thinking.

_Is she planning something?_ He gulped, knowing that when Zelda intended to get even, she would _get even. _

He watched her carefully for the next few minutes as they talked idly about plans for Sheik and Malon's wedding. They had begun talking about who would be Malon's Maid of Honor when Link felt something brush against his ankle.

The only person who would have been able to reach him was Zelda, but she didn't seem to notice anything happened. But, just as he was about to shrug it off as if it was nothing, he noticed a small smile as she glanced at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't say or do anything.

"I definitely think we should come up with a plan…" Midna began to say, but Link stopped listening to her when he felt Zelda's foot run down his leg.

This time, he knew it was no mistake.

Link had tried to regain his focus on the conversation, but Zelda was being so distracting. And he couldn't just tell her to stop, not just because he didn't want their friends getting any hints, but also because he didn't _want _her to stop.

Her toes, which were definitely not in her flats anymore, danced against his knee, and he could tell what her plan was at this point.

He had to admit that he deserved it for being such an ass earlier.

"I think that's a wonderful idea. Don't you think so too, Link?" He was suddenly brought out of his dazed state to see Zelda and everyone else looking at him. He stared back, completely unaware of what they were talking about.

"Uh… sure." He absent-mindedly agreed.

"Oh, great!" Malon smiled. "So I was thinking we could go to the bridal store to start looking at dresses this weekend. You're not busy, are you?"

"Huh?" Link repeated, his breath getting caught in his throat as Zelda's foot began to travel upwards, teasingly running against his thigh.

"You just agreed to help us go shopping for our bridesmaid and bridal dresses." Midna clarified, confused with his weird behavior. "Sheik obviously can't and Dark didn't want to so we asked you."

"Oh… right." He secretly glared at Zelda, who didn't seem to see it, or notice. She innocently took a sip of her water as if she wasn't getting closer and closer to touching Link's crotch. _I'm sure not getting out of this one. _He thought to himself, absent-mindedly sliding down into his chair, granting her more access. Or, at least, easier access.

Though he was annoyed with her behavior, he sure was enjoying it. But, it was killing him that he had to hold in the moan that was begging to come out any minute now, especially because she wiggled her foot just underneath him, cupping him with the top of her foot and her ankle.

"If I am your Maid of Honor, then Midna can be mine, and you can be Midna's!" Zelda smiled. It was taking everything in her power not to giggle at how embarrassed Link was, and how hard of a time he was having to try and hide it. But what really took all of her strength was to force herself to not laugh maniacally.

"So then Link will be Sheik's, I will be Link's, and Sheik will be mine?" Dark asked, his arms crossing after finishing off his drink.

"Sounds about right."

"But that's no fair!" Sheik whined, turning to face his friends who didn't seem to be listening to him much. "That means I'll never get to be a best man."

"Um, yes you will." Midna corrected him, combing her fingers through her long orange hair. "You will be Dark's."

"Oh, please. We all know he's never going to get married." The Harkinian brother grumbled, pouting.

"To be honest, he's probably right." Dark shrugged, not caring about anything, like always.

Zelda had been following along with the whole conversation, focusing most of her attention on stroking Link through his pants, but she was definitely not as distracted as he was. But, she had apparently not noticed a clanking noise as Midna dropped her pen to the floor.

"Damn it…" She mumbled, looking under the table to see where it landed. Seeing it was by Dark's feet, she tapped him to get him out of his daze. "I dropped my pen… can you get it for me?"

"Sure." He nodded.

He moved his chair backwards, bending underneath the table to get the writing utensil for the beautiful Twili girl. He took his time reaching for it, attempting to look up Midna's skirt. Once he was satisfied with his "examination" he met with another sight that was very unexpected.

As he turned to get up, he tried to contemplate what was going on with the two that were sitting next to him. Zelda's leg and foot was clearly invading Link's personal space, while his leg was very close to hers. He raised an eyebrow, holding back a smirk.

Was this something they did now? Guess he and Midna weren't the only ones that were… _close_.

Dark wondered if what he saw really meant what he thought it meant. But, as he sat up again, he casually glanced towards Link when he stretched. Though no one had noticed it before, Link was being exceptionally quiet today. Dark could see that his cheeks had a pink tint to it, and he was biting his lips. He looked angry as he stared at Zelda, who looked especially devious at the moment.

Now that he figured out their situation, understanding the strange food conversation they had earlier, and why she was so happy, Dark had a small smirk as he placed Midna's pen back in front of her.

"Why are you smirking?" She asked, an eyebrow rising. She could tell that his suppressed grin was laced with evil. As usual.

"Ah, nothing." He looked at her, with that same evil feeling coming from his eyes and voice. "Just… saw something."

"Oh, did you now?" She uncrossed her arms, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, when I was getting your pen, I…" Pausing and thinking over what he just found out, he realized that he could use this information to his advantage. He really loved blackmail, especially when it came to Link. "I saw your choice of underwear today."

"Hm, did you?" Midna rested her head on her palm, smiling. "I hope you know that it was not intentional."

"Of course not." He shrugged, leaning back. "You just so happened to wear a thong that you know I like on the day you wore a skirt and asked me to retrieve your dropped pen for you. Mm-hmm." She rolled her eyes. "Say, didn't a sequel to your least favorite movie come out recently? Want to go see it tonight so we can make fun of it together?"

She raised an eyebrow, confused at his suggestion. "I thought we didn't do that kind of stuff." It was more of a command than a statement. "Plus, no one can get me to see that movie. It'll be horrible, just like the original."

"Whatever you say." He sighed, sipping his dark coffee, acting as if he didn't care about her answer.

She stood up and smoothed her skirt. "I'm going to the bathroom. Do either of you want to come?" She looked towards the girls.

"Sure!" Malon smiled and stood up.

"Nah, I'm good." Zelda shook her head, still watching Link carefully.

"Sheik, dear, can you get me another muffin?" Malon smiled sweetly, and her fiancé nodded and walked back to the counter.

The other girls left, leaving Zelda, Link, and Dark alone. An uncomfortable silence overtook them all, Dark knowing very well what they were doing under the table. He cleared his throat very loudly, getting both of them to look at him.

"You two should probably wait until you get home to do that." He smirked, sipping his coffee. Their eyes widened, but they weren't about to reveal anything.

"W-What are you talking about?" Zelda asked, hoping that he didn't find anything out. She wouldn't be so lucky.

"I mean, if you are so eager to jump each other, you should probably just go home early." He looked down at his nearly empty cup and began standing up. "I think I'll go get a refill, say hello to your brother…" He gave them an evil look, to which Zelda jumped up to try and stop him.

"What… how?"

"Footsie? Really? Are you teenagers?" He raised an eyebrow, laughing quietly. The other two gave each other an embarrassed look. "But what's going on between you guys?"

"Nothing…" Link looked away from him, a sure sign that he wasn't telling the truth.

"C'mon. Unless you want me to tell Sheik what I saw…" He threatened in a teasing voice. He began to walk away, but Link grabbed his wrist and yanked him down to sit next to him.

"Fine. We'll tell you."

_Too easy. _Dark hid a smirk.

"We've, uh…" Zelda coughed as her cheeks reddened. "We've kind of been, um…"

"Fooling around?" Dark seemed to completely understand the situation.

"Yeah…" Link scratched his head, also very flushed.

"Ah, I thought so." He relaxed back into his chair.

"So… you won't tell my brother?" Zelda pleaded with him. Sheik was the _last_ person she wanted to find out about this, followed by Malon. Sure, she was her best friend and might be able to understand, but she had a big mouth.

"I won't tell him, don't worry." His expression quickly turned devious when he added, "But, only if you do something for me…"

* * *

"I really think you should go to the movies with Dark, Midna." Link grumbled, clearly very unhappy.

"I do too." Zelda glared at Dark from her seat. "I mean, if he asked me I would be so happy I'd faint."

"Really?" Midna looked thoroughly confused at their sudden change in behavior. Malon and Sheik exchanged looks across the table.

"If I was… gay, I'd totally – " Link stopped himself and glared at Dark, who was innocently sitting next to him. "I can't do it Dark, I can't…" He mumbled, but Dark didn't seem to look at all sympathetic.

When he realized that Link wasn't going to finish the statement without motivation, he reached behind the other guy's back and tapped Sheik on the shoulder. "Hey, Sheik, you know – "

"I'd totally choose him over Sheik." Link finished through gritted teeth.

"Somehow, I feel insulted." Sheik whispered to Malon, laughing, still trying to figure out what happened to the two of them.

"I don't know how you put the two of them up to talking you up like that, but it must've taken a lot." Midna leaned back in her chair. "So if going on a date means so much to you that you are willing to totally humiliate them, fine. I'll go."

"Cool." Dark nodded, smiling. He turned to the pair beside him. "You're off the hook."

"Thank Hylia…" Zelda mumbled.

"What did he bribe you with to make you do that?" Malon asked, taking a bite out of her muffin.

Link and Zelda exchanged a fast glance, scrambling to think of something.

"Oh, nothing… he just asked us for a favor and we wanted to help out our good friend…" Zelda laughed uncomfortably and tapped his arm.

"No, seriously, what did he do?" Their friends didn't believe a word they said.

"I was threatening that I'd tell Sheik – "

"DON'T!" They shouted in unison, disturbing the rest of the café.

Dark didn't finish his sentence.

"Tell me what?" Sheik looked frightened with their reaction.

Dark gave them a cunning look before lying, "When you all left before, they agreed that you're whipped."

"Excuse me?"

"That you're whipped." Sheik gave him a strange look. "That Malon wears the pants in your relationship?"

"Oh…" He relaxed. "That's not that bad."

"Yeah." Link mumbled, looking down.

* * *

When they decided to leave an hour or so later, Link and Zelda walked up to Dark when the others weren't around.

"Thanks for not telling Sheik." Zelda said.

"You don't plan on telling him in the future, right?" Link fiddled with his fingers. He knew very well that Sheik would beat him to a pulp if he ever found out. Link was much stronger than he was, but what he was like when he was angry was a totally different story.

"Probably not." Dark nodded, making the two feel better until he added, "It's great black mail for you two after all."

"Excuse me?"

"I have dirt on all of you." Dark nodded as if they already knew. "I mean, Link having a mask stuck on his face for three days straight and Zelda dating Gonzo when she was still underage are classics, but it's nice to get some updated material."

They looked mortified at having their secrets revealed, and also for learning of each other's secret.

"Well, see you around, you two. Have fun, use protection!" He teased.

Both of them couldn't look up, wallowing in their embarrassment.

"Damn it, Dark…"

* * *

_So I guess that's the end. The hurricane really delayed this. I will try to post the next sooner~ Reviews really motivate me, so if you want it out fast, make sure to leave a review.  
_

_Have a happy Thanksgiving~  
_

_- Kreszentenia  
_


	8. Chapter Eight: Problems on the Horizon

_**EDIT:: As Generala pointed out, I forgot to put in breaks this time! I am so sorry! **  
_

_Ugh, I feel like such a horrible author for making you all wait for so long. But I really love this chapter, so I hope you do too!  
_

_Also, I wish I could thank each of you individually for all of your follows, favorites, and reviews. I never expected that people would actually like this!  
_

_ Oh, also, there is a pretty big time skip here, but don't be alarmed. It's only a few months worth because I wanted them to have this going on for a while. _  
_Anyway, on to the story!_

* * *

_**Friends with Benefits**  
_

_**Chapter Eight : Problems on the Horizon  
**_

_[ Zelda's POV ]_

About three months have passed since I moved in with Link, and about two and a half months since we had started sleeping together. Things have gone… relatively normal. Us having sex together became sort of a daily habit, just like anything else you would do normally. We'd wake up next to each other, get ready, go to work, come home, have dinner, go to bed, and we'd have sex somewhere in between all of the other mundane things. It made life interesting.

Of course, there have been days where we don't sleep together for whatever reason. We have also had a couple of dates here and there, but they obviously haven't worked out. Link and I haven't done anything particularly kinky, unless you count our off days where we just walk around naked until one of us cracks. It's kind of like a game. At first, it was totally easy to get him to give in, but he seems to have gotten better at resisting me… but I am still the champ.

I opened my eyes, and saw it was almost 4 pm, meaning it was time for me to get ready for Malon and Sheik's holiday party. I started getting up, but I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and bring me back into bed.

"Where ya goin'?" Link's tired voice asked me as he rested his head on my bare shoulder.

"To take a shower." I mumbled, trying to get him to release his grip. "We have that party later and I really want to look presentable."

"C'mon, Zel. You look great, like always." He said, sucking on my neck. I reluctantly tore myself away and grabbed my robe, wrapping it around my naked body.

"Link, I have stink from working at the school all day in those hot, smelly classrooms with a bunch of immature high school-ers who think I can increase their grade in history just because I am Impa's assistant." I stretched as I ranted to him, and he nodded understandably. "Plus, I _really_ don't want to show up to my brother's, and my best friend's, party while smelling like sex."

"You smell amazing, Zelda." Link chuckled and patted the spot beside him. "And you know that you really want to just stay here and lay with me."

I stared at him for a few seconds, thinking about how nice it would be to just lay around and do nothing, but eventually shook my head.

"I know you're just saying that so I would stay here and keep you warm." I smirked and he shrugged, his smile never leaving his face. "Besides, you need to get ready too."

He rolled his eyes before sitting up. "Alright, I will, _mom_."

I chuckled and walked to the bathroom. I had been just a few minutes into my shower when I heard the door open and close quietly. I knew Link was trying to surprise me, but he should know by now that never worked.

I washed the remaining soap off of my body as I waited for what he was going to do. Suddenly, the curtain swung open and his smiling face was shown.

"Oh my Goddesses, Link. You scared me." I exclaimed sarcastically. He chuckled before jumping into the shower with me.

"I knew you would figure out what I was doing, but I couldn't resist." He shrugged, wrapping his arms around me and started to suck on my neck, something he seemed to really enjoy.

"I may be clean now, but you stink." I tried to prove my point by pinching my nose, but it was ineffective seeing as how I started to laugh.

"That's why I'm in here with you." He carefully spun me around and gave me a quick kiss.

"Oh really? Is that all?"

"And also because of the naked lady." Link laughed as I rolled my eyes. "That's you."

"I know." I laughed and brought him down to kiss me.

We kissed for a while as we just held each other. Soon enough, hands started to wander and it was back to the usual game. One of my hands was caught in his hair while the other was teasingly travelling down his bare back.

"I hope Malon and Sheik don't mind us being a little late." I smiled.

"Of course they wouldn't." His hands rested on my thighs, tickling me. "If they knew, they'd understand."

"They don't… right?" I pulled away, wondering if the two of them had found out about our situation.

"Do I _have _a death wish?" He raised an eyebrow, shocked I would even think that he had told them.

"I suppose not."

We began to kiss again and he plopped me down on the shower bench. He hovered over me, making a large space between our bodies.

"I guess you don't care about being on time anymore, huh?" He asked, humor laced in his voice.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

* * *

"Sorry we're late, we got a little sidetracked." I apologized to Malon and Sheik when we got to their party almost an hour late.

"Yeah, Zelda got distracted." Link smirked at me and I gave him an annoyed look.

"By what?" We heard a voice come from behind the couple in front of us. Of course, it belonged to Dark, who pushed through them to give us a repressed evil grin.

"I, uh…" I started to blush, and Link probably was too.

"It's no problem, Zelda. Most of our guests are running late anyway due to the snow." Sheik said, moving aside and allowing us into the party, but he stopped us short. "Hey, Pipit and Karane are here. They said they wanted to see you guys."

"Oh, really?" Link's face lit up. Pipit had been their dorm advisor, while Karane had been a few rooms down from Malon and I's back in college. They had liked each other for a long time, and we had all plotted to get them together, and we did. "I'd love to see them."

"Me too, but I'll catch up with them later. I want to warm up first." I replied, shivering a little. Link had insisted on walking here despite the impeding snow storm. Sometimes I wonder if he's all there.

Malon, Sheik, and Link walked towards the kitchen and I was left with Dark, now fully smirking at me.

"Just get all the jokes over with now. I know you're dying to tell them." I narrowed my eyes at him as we begin to walk towards the couch.

"I don't have any." He shrugged and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I glared at him. "Really, I don't."

"Uh-huh. I think you're just saving them for when both Link and I can hear them." I removed his arm from around me.

"Can you blame me? Both of you are so skittish that even any reference sends you both blushing like mad." He waved to some Gerudo girl, who rolled her eyes and looked away after giving him a deathly glare. "Besides, it's _so_ easy to make jokes about your… ahem… _relationship_."

He wiggled his eyebrows at this, causing me to groan and sit down on one of the few available spots on the couch. I adjusted my skirt after I sat. When I was done, I crossed my arms and looked up at him.

"We would have never told you if you hadn't found out for yourself."

"Uh, Zel…"

"We promised not to tell anyone because we knew you all would blow it out of proportion or do something crazy about it."

"Um, Zelda…"

"Link and I sleeping together is none of your business and your constant – "

"Link and you are sleeping together?!" I heard a feminine voice behind me, and my eyes went wide when I recognized it. I slowly turned to see Midna, in just as much shock as I was.

"N-No…" I tried to deny it, but my embarrassment and lack of argument surely didn't help my case.

"I tried to tell you that she was right behind you, but you wouldn't stop yelling at me to let me talk." Dark shrugged. He sat next to me and turned to look at Midna before answering her earlier question, "Yeah, they've been fucking like bunnies."

"Dark!" I squealed, trying to get him to shut up. "Oh, sweet Nayru…"

"For how long?!"

"For almost three months now." Dark nodded, completely disregarding how mortified I was. "I can't believe none of you have figured it out yet. It is so _obvious_."

"But what does this mean?!" Midna exclaimed.

"What does what mean?" Malon, who had just walked over, sat on the floor in front of us and asked.

"Zelda and Link have been sleeping together!" Midna nearly yelled, getting the attention of the people around us. Malon looked at me, slack-jawed.

"Hey, yell louder, I don't think my brother heard you!" I grumbled, annoyed.

"But what does it mean?!" Malon repeated what Midna had said earlier.

"How did it happen?!"

"Just thought I'd remind you that them finding out was all your fault." Dark stretched back, chuckling and I glared at him.

"So are you two dating now?" Malon asked, leaning in. "Oh, that would be amazing! You could go on double dates with Sheik and I!"

"No, no, no!" I exclaimed, trying to shush her. "I'll explain the whole thing to you if you promise me something."

"What?"

"You must promise not to tell anyone else, _especially_ Sheik." They nodded understandably. "He's already bothered that I am _living_ with him. He would kill us if he found out."

"Okay, okay. We won't tell anyone." Midna waved her hand, then leaned in. "So tell us everything."

"And when we say everything, we mean _everything_." Malon winked.

I sighed, knowing I was never going to get out of this, or hear the end of it.

"Remember how I moved in with you for a little while a couple of months ago?" I looked towards Malon and she nodded.

"Since then?!"

"No, no! Let me finish! It's already hard enough to tell you as it is." I took in a deep breath before continuing. "The reason that I wanted to move in with you instead of him was because we had sex the night before. We got really drunk, you know?"

"So he told you no because it would be weird?" Malon raised an eyebrow at me and I shook my head.

"I didn't even ask him. I was the one that felt it would be too weird." She nodded. "Then, at Dark's party a week or so later, we had decided to never talk about it again, and move in together. Then I went on a few dates with Vaati, and when the last one went horribly, I decided that I didn't want to date any guys anymore because it's been proven time and time again that all guys are jerks – "

"Hey!" Dark faked that he was hurt by my comment.

"Don't even get me started on you." I turned back to the girls. "Anyway, when I got home, we got to talking, and one thing led to another…"

"So are you dating or not?" Malon asked, biting her lip.

"We're not… we're still… friends, I guess." I shrugged.

We all stayed quiet for a little until I sat up and cleared my throat.

"I think I am going to go talk to Pipit and Karane." I started to walk away, but turned back to say, "Please remember not to tell Sheik about all of this. And don't tell Link that I told you."

* * *

_[ 3__rd__ Person ]_

"I can't believe it…" Malon whispered, taking the spot where Zelda had been sitting.

"Me neither…" Midna leaned on her hand, looking towards Dark. "How long have you known?"

"Almost since the beginning." He cracked his knuckles. "They didn't tell me, I kind of figured it out on my own."

"I didn't think they would have told you." Midna laughed.

"But seriously, they're being so stupid." Malon shook her head disapprovingly. "Don't they realize this kind of relationship never works out in the end? Someone always ends up getting hurt…"

Dark and Midna glanced nervously at each other.

"One of them could fall for the other when they don't feel the same… they could never go back to being normal friends again… she could get pregnant…" Malon's eyes widened suddenly, gasping, "She could get pregnant!"

"She's not going to get pregnant." Midna laughed awkwardly, still looking at Dark who swallowed hard.

"But what if he falls for her or she falls for him…" Malon shook her head. "I just hope they'll be alright…"

They were silent for a while, thinking about what she had said.

"We should help them." Malon suddenly said.

"What?" The other two said in unison.

"We should help them!" They gave her another confused look. "We could either get them together officially or make them realize that this isn't going anywhere!"

"That could work." Dark shrugged.

"But which one?" Midna asked.

"I'm not sure, but we should!" She thought it over, "We'll decide whether or not they are good for each other, and then figure out how to do it!"

"I guess that'll be good, but how will we pull it off without being suspicious?" Dark asked.

"I've got a few ideas…" Malon smiled.

* * *

"I could get you a date with Ilia if you want it, you know." Pipit laughed, his arms protectively encircled around Karane, who is now his wife.

"Don't you remember her? She was _so_ hot!" Sheik laughed, but then suddenly looked very scared. "Don't tell Malon I said that."

"I think I'm good, Pipit."

"But you just said you haven't gone on a date in more than a month. And, as Sheik put it, Ilia is 'so hot'. So why not?" Karane laughed as she spoke, staying close to Pipit.

Just then, Zelda walked into the kitchen. She looked around for a bit and when she spotted them she smiled and waved. Link looked at her for a moment and gave her a small, nearly unnoticeable smile.

"I think I am good." I told Pipit, and he shrugged. Zelda made it over to them and stood next to Link.

"So what are you guys talking about?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing." Link gave her a big grin, and the other three gave him a weird look.

It felt nice having her stand next to him like that. She was so warm and loving… He watched Pipit and Karane hold each other just like the happy couple that they were, and suddenly, he wanted to hold Zelda the same way. He just wanted to hold her and kiss her and not care who sees because they wouldn't be a secret anymore.

Link looked down at Zelda and they smiled at each other again. But, he soon realized what he had just been thinking of doing. His smile faded. Does he…? Is he…?

_Uh oh… _

* * *

_Dun dun dunnnnn!  
_

_In case you didn't get that, Link is thinking that he may be falling for her/is already in love with her.  
_

_And now Midna, Malon, and Dark are teaming up to get them together or break them up! It should be getting pretty interesting now.  
_

_So, because I have only a few ideas of what they could do, what do you think they could do to get them together or to get them back to being just friends?  
_

_Anyways, have a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, hope you had a Happy Hanukkah if you celebrate it, and if you don't celebrate anything.. have a good Tuesday? I guess?  
_

_See you soon with another chapter!  
_

_- Kreszentenia  
_

_PS: Are the chapters a good length? Or are they too long or too short? I don't know!  
_


	9. Chapter Nine: Make it or Break it

_Geez, I really need to get my act together when getting these out faster! But honestly, I had huge writer's block when writing this chapter, so that was part of it._

_And I will try to make longer chapters now. I tried finding places I could fit in more description in this one, but I think I maxed out the amount of words I could have possibly written in this chapter (even if it is the longest one so far). The next chapter will probably be on the short side as well, but from then on the chapters will be much longer (and much more exciting!). _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  
_

* * *

_**Friends with Benefits**  
_

_**Chapter Nine : Make it or Break it**  
_

* * *

_[3__rd__ Person]_

A knock startled Zelda up from the couch as she ate her breakfast and watched Sunday morning cartoons. She stumbled over to the door, grumbling to herself.

"For Nayru's sake, if that's Ghirahim coming to complain about noise again, I'm going to kill him." Zelda threatened under her breath. Whoever was at the door knocked again, even louder. "I'm com-AH!" She was cut off by slipping on one of Link's jackets that had been lazily dropped on the floor by said man.

"Are you okay?" Came the feminine voice from the other side of the door. Zelda recognized it as Malon's voice, and clumsily stood up, taking the jacket with her. She hung it up on the nearby coat rack and opened the door. "You look… nice." Malon chuckled, seeing Zelda's disheveled pink pajamas and messy ponytail.

"Oh be quiet, you know it's a Sunday." Zelda rolled her eyes, but still subconsciously fixed her appearance slightly. "So what are you doing here, anyway?"

Malon stepped into the apartment and noticeably grimaced at how messy it was. It really wasn't that bad, but to Malon it seemed to be. She certainly isn't the neatest person around, but she knew that Zelda was practically a clean-freak.

"Does Link ever clean up around here?" She asked, noticing a week's worth of papers strewn on the coffee table.

"Yes, but not much!" Zelda laughed. "I don't think it's that bad."

"Oh, really?" Malon paused, realizing that getting Zelda to realize Link's annoying habits so she'd want to move out would be more difficult than she had originally planned. "So, where is Link anyway?"

"He's still sleeping." Zelda answered before going into the kitchen and digging through her fridge. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"But it's almost 10! How is he still asleep?" Malon sat on the couch and glanced at the TV, noticing the cartoon Zelda had been watching. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. _She actually likes this show? It's horrible! _Malon thought, then realized that she never answered Zelda's question. "Oh, uh… water is fine."

"Alright." Zelda called back.

A few minutes later, Zelda came back into the living room section of the apartment with a glass of water for Malon and coffee for herself. She sat back in the spot she was in earlier, and stared at Malon for a while, and in return she gave her friend a very confused look.

"What?" Malon finally spoke, glancing around awkwardly.

"Well?" Zelda asked as she sipped her beverage. Malon stared at her for a little while, puzzled by her question. Zelda cleared her throat before elaborating, "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I got you a little something." She held up a package and handed it to Zelda. "I had seen it when out shopping the other day and thought that you might like it, so I got it for you."

Zelda carefully opened the brown box and found a lot of packing peanuts on the inside. Being careful not to let many fall out, she moved them aside until she found a small clay pot. It was very wide and light brown, with a dark brown strip and a strange white design towards the top. It did look very nice, but easily breakable.

"I thought that you might want to put some spare rupees in there or something." Malon grabbed some green and blue rupees from the table and dropped them in. "See, it's a great storage place!"

The girls heard a noise come from behind them, so they turned to see Link stumbling out of his room, covering his mouth to block a huge yawn. He was only wearing light brown sweatpants, and had some serious bed head.

Malon tried to hide her blush as she saw her former crush's bare chest, while Zelda looked as if she was about to start laughing at Link's hair. It was clear he had been sleeping on his right due to the hair on that side sticking up almost straight, making it look like he had failed at combing his hair over.

"Good morning, sleeping princess!" Zelda chuckled and Link rubbed his eye.

"Why is Malon here?" He asked, ignoring his roommate's comment.

"I came to give Zelda a present. See, look!"

Malon quickly handed the pot to Link, who stared at it quizzically, but soon took it. He examined it with a weird look. When he was done looking at it, he went to hand it back to Zelda when he dropped it on accident. The three looked down at the broken pieces on the floor and the scattered rupees.

Malon nearly squealed in excitement when she saw it break. She knew that Link was very clumsy when handling things that are fragile, especially pots and jars. She figured that if he broke something of Zelda's, she would get angry and then realize how many things he breaks and not want to live with him anymore. Malon prayed to the gods this plan would work, because otherwise she just threw 30 rupees down the drain.

But, to her surprise (and annoyance), Zelda wasn't angry at all. In fact, she was probably the opposite of angry. She even started _laughing_ at the predicament. Link looked relieved and Malon tried to not look too mad that her plan had failed.

"My gods, Link!" Zelda exclaimed, rolling her head back as she tried to regain her breath from laughing so hard.

Link looked totally shocked at Zelda's response, "Zelda, I'm so sorry, I - "

"Don't be!" Zelda patted him, tugging on his arm to bring him over to sit with them. "I honestly expected that to happen. I still don't get how you manage to break every pot you find."

"You're not mad, Zel?" Malon asked, not believing how casually she was taking this.

"I'm sorry, Malon. I know you selflessly got me this present and all, but did you honestly not expect Link to break it?" Zelda stood up from her spot and started walking to the kitchen. "I'll get you some breakfast, Link. Will you please clean up the broken pieces for me in the meantime?"

"Sounds fair!" Link replied, standing up and noticing the TV. "Oh, Malon, would you mind turning it up? I love this show!"

"Really?" Malon questioned him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I know lots of people think it's kind of stupid, but Zel and I think it's really enjoyable, even if it's kind of cheesy."

"Alrighty…" Malon sighed as she raised the volume just as the green-clad hero said his signature catchphrase to the annoyed princess on the screen.

* * *

"And she wasn't upset at all!" Malon exclaimed to her two friends later that day.

"Seriously?" Midna, who sat down in the chair opposite of the other girl, asked. "When he dropped one of my pots a couple of weeks ago, I totally flipped out on him! I had that sent all the way from Termina!"

"Plus, she didn't care about his total laziness about cleaning up or even dressing properly. And him sleeping in really late." Malon shook her head as she relived her earlier visit. "It was really weird."

"What happened to the annoying and controlling Zelda we all know and love?" Dark laughed.

The three had all agreed on the plan as far as either getting Link and Zelda together or making them "break up." They decided to first try getting them to stop sleeping together (as opposed to trying to get them to make things more official), and thought the best way to do that was by getting Zelda to move out of Link's apartment. They had planned to get her to do this by making her realize all the things about Link that annoyed or bothered her.

They had agreed to meet up at Midna's house, which is located just outside of Castle Town, to continue to discuss their plan and what they should do next. Her house is relatively large (especially in comparison to her friends' apartments) and decorated nicely as well as being well-kept. The only reason they don't go there as often as they go to everyone else's places was because it was so far out of the way.

"Also, not that it really matters in the scheme of things, but they both really like this really bad cartoon from the 80's." Malon added.

"What is it called?" Dark asked as he began to obnoxiously chew on a piece of candy.

"Oh, I dunno… uh…" Malon tried to remember the title, "I think it was 'Legend of' something? I'm not sure, but it was _really_ bad."

"I know that one! It is… not good." Dark grimaced, trying to figure out why they would ever like such a show.

"I know, right? But they love it apparently!" Malon shrugged, utterly confused with their love of a cartoon made for children. Midna cleared her throat, obviously frustrated with them not discussing the actually important things.

"Anyways, I think trying to psychologically manipulate them into doing it themselves will never work." Midna stated, tapping her lips gently in thought.

"What do you mean?" The other two gave each other confused looks, both not quite sure what their friend was trying to get at.

"And we can't just outright tell them to make it official or break it off," Midna continued to think out loud, "but they would never define their relationship themselves unless they had to."

"Alright, and that pretty much leaves us with what we started with." Malon sighed. She was really starting to get aggravated with the whole ordeal, and almost wished they never learned about it in the first place. But now that they do know, they definitely have to fix it. It is just not healthy for either of them.

"What we really need to do is come up with something that would definitely either break them up or get them together, and nothing in between." Midna concluded, and Dark gave her an annoyed look.

"We've already established that, Midna." He stated, sighing. He honestly didn't care about what Link and Zelda did behind closed doors. If it didn't affect him personally, it wasn't his problem. The only reason he was getting involved was because he knew Midna cared about it.

"No, no, no. Instead of trying to trick them into breaking it off or getting together, we need to make them realize it with our help. This way there will be no risk that they'll keep sleeping together without it meaning anything." She paused. "We'll figure out whether being together or not is better for them."

"So… which exactly should we do?" Dark asked.

"Well, personally…" Malon finally spoke up. "I think we should try to get them to be together."

"What?" The other two exclaimed in unison.

"I think we should get them together, officially." Malon repeated, looking at her friends' dumbfounded faces. "When I was over there, I can sense that they felt really strongly towards each other. It might not be love, _yet_, but who knows? The more I saw it happening, the more I realized that they are really good together, and not just as friends or roommates."

"In what way?"

"Well…" Malon sighed, remembering back to earlier that day. "Zelda seemed to not care about Link's flaws, and she even thought they were cute or funny. That's a big part of being in a relationship, you know. And Link was listening to her and wanted to help her in any way he could. They even like the same things and joke about the same stuff." She smiled sweetly as she thought of her two friends. "And they've been friends forever and get along so well. They've never really been in a serious fight. I think it would be so cute if they got together, don't you two think so?"

Midna and Dark looked at each other for a brief moment. Midna turned back to Malon with a small, but somewhat sad, smile on her face.

"While it would be amazing if they did end up getting together, they just may not be in the same place right now." Midna shook her head sadly before continuing, "We really don't know anything that happened to them before we met them during college. For all we know, they may have tried to be in an actual relationship together when they were in high school and it didn't work out. Plus, they may have different ideas in mind about what they want to do with their lives."

"We should try to find out where they're at, that way we know which direction to go in." Dark commented. "If they are both looking for the same things, we should get them together. If they aren't, we'll put an end to it. It's the only logical way to go about this."

"But how exactly are we going to figure out what they are thinking?" Midna asked, looking at Malon, who tended to be the one who came up with all the ideas in their plan.

"I think I know the perfect way to pull it off." Malon smiled, sipping on her wine with a sly smile on her face. Midna and Dark saw this, and looked at each other and gulped.

* * *

The next day, Dark came sauntering into one of the history classroom at Gaepora Academy, a private school located in the nearby town of Skyloft. He spotted Zelda writing on the board (presumably notes for the next class) as her boss, Impa, typed on the computer.

"So this is your class, huh, Zel?" He called, making Zelda jump out of surprise. Impa turned to see Dark look around, examining the classroom.

"I assume this is one of your friends, Ms. Harkinian?" Impa turned to her assistant, who nodded her head, but seemed annoyed by the man's sudden appearance.

"I guess you could call him that." Zelda chuckled and began walking to the back to speak with him.

"Well, excuuuuse me, princess." Dark laughed out loud at his response, earning a very noticeable glare from said 'princess.'

Zelda finally made it to the back of the room, and really had to resist smacking him across the face. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice low as to not disturb her boss.

"I came here to see if you'd want to go out on a lunch date with me." Dark smiled at her, and this smile was much different than usual. Instead of a smug smirk like she was used to getting from the man, this was an actual _smile_. Zelda's eyes widened in pure shock and was left speechless by not only his smile, but also his question.

Meanwhile, Midna and Link were discussing his schedule for the week down at the recording studio.

"You're going to be filling in on guitar for The Indigo-Go's temporarily. Apparently something happened to their guitarist." Midna looked through her notepad and said with a shrug.

"Sounds good. I've always been a fan of their music." Link nodded with a smile.

"So, Link…" Midna smiled as brightly as she could at him, and he looked up from his notebook to her.

"Yeah?" He asked, starting to get a little creeped out with her smiling at him like that.

"I was just wondering… are you free tomorrow night?"

"No, I'm not… Why?" He flipped back through his notebook. "Do I have a gig or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that." She placed her hand on his sleeve and he raised his head to her. "I was wondering if you'd want to go out… on a date with me?"

* * *

_Can you tell I've been watching the Legend of Zelda animated series? I honestly really like it. I mean, I can't hate on it for being bad, it was made in the 80's. Cartoons, especially American ones (I don't really know about other countries' cartoons), were typically really corny and not well animated and what-not. Have you guys watched the series? And if you have, what is your opinion on it?  
_

_I am sorry if parts of this chapter are hard to follow, my mind was going in so many different directions while I was writing this. I think I fixed it up for the most part (the rough draft was really bad, trust me) but if you have any questions feel free to PM me or leave a review about it.  
_

_I think I am going to post a one-shot or two soon, so if you are interested, make sure you keep a look out for it~  
_

_That's about it, so please review if you want, favorite or follow if you haven't already, and I'll see you whenever! Which hopefully will be soon!  
_

_- Kreszentenia  
_


	10. Chapter Ten: Confrontation

**_EDIT:: Fixed the typo... thanks for pointing it out, Xerzo LotCN! _**

_Wow, I'm a horrible author. _

_I don't even want to begin as to why this story is so late coming out. School has been stressful, there's been friend and family drama... I've just been really busy. And on top of all of that, I had no inspiration or want to write this chapter. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I didn't know how I wanted to write it. So, I put it off until I forced myself to start writing it. _

_This time it's even longer than the last chapter (thus being the longest so far) so hopefully that makes up for the long wait. I honestly didn't expect to like this chapter, but I do. I think it goes pretty well. _

_Please tell me if you see any mistakes as far as grammar/spelling/etc. goes. I use Word to write these and it usually autocorrects my words into something I didn't want to say... I don't know._

_Anyways, I kept you waiting long enough, so enjoy!_

* * *

**_Friends with Benefits_**

**_Chapter Ten : Confrontation_**

* * *

_[3__rd__ Person]_

"You what?" Zelda stared at Dark in total shock, her voice hushed and high pitched.

"I want to go out to lunch with you." He repeated, still smiling sweetly at her. _It doesn't suit him at all. _

Zelda saw out of the corner of her eye that Impa had glanced over at them. Worried about bothering her boss, she grabbed Dark roughly by the shirt and walked out into the hallway with him.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Her voice was still very high pitched, trying to figure out what Dark was trying to accomplish. "If it is, tell me now because you're really freaking me out…"

"No, it isn't." Dark leaned against the wall, arms crossed. He honestly couldn't tell what Malon wanted him to do or find out exactly, so he just kept doing this act. He sure was enjoying Zelda's shocked faces, though.

"But, why… what… why?" She sputtered, holding her head in total confusion. Sure, Dark had always made suggestive comments towards her and the other girls in their group, but she never thought they actually meant anything. Maybe the ones towards Midna, but not to her… He certainly took every opportunity he could to tell Zelda she's annoying and nags everyone too much and make fun of her.

"So… is that a yes or no?" He continued to watch her in her utterly confused state.

"I just…" Then it clicked in her mind, and she realized what he was up to. "Is this about me and Link? Did Malon set you up to do this?"

For a split second, his smile went away when he realized that she saw right through him. He quickly recovered, grinning once more, but it was enough to let Zelda know that it was the truth.

"No, of course not. I just wanted to see – "

Zelda cut him off before he repeated himself again. "No matter what your reasoning is, Dark, I have to decline." His smile faded, but he looked more interested in what she was saying now than before. "I just don't think it's a good idea to date friends, regardless of how long you've known them and how close you are. And besides, I don't think I am at a point in my life where I am ready to be in a relationship." She knew this was all an act, but still added in, "No hard feelings, right?"

"Of course not." Dark stuffed his hands in his pockets before flashing his trademark smirk. "I mean, I've been turned down before. Honestly, I would have been more surprised if you had said yes." He shrugged and turned away from her. "See ya later, Zel." With a slight wave he walked away.

Once Dark was out of sight, she leaned against the wall, looking up and taking a big breath. _What exactly are they planning? _

* * *

That evening, on the bus ride home, Zelda had decided not to mention to Link what happened between her and Dark that day. He still didn't know that Malon and Midna knew about their situation, and really didn't want to explain to him that it was her fault they found out.

Zelda really hated keeping secrets from Link or lying to him. He trusted her so much (as did she with him) and she didn't like abusing it when it was necessary.

She clutched her many papers in her hand as she shielded herself from the rain with an umbrella. She walked quickly into her apartment building, being careful not to step in any puddles or trip. The bottom half of her dark blue skinny jeans had gotten soaked, and she was shivering as she waited in the elevator alone.

As soon as she got into her and Link's apartment, she went straight into her rooms to change into a pair of pajama pants and one of Link's old t-shirts. They didn't fit him anymore, but they were big on her so he gladly gave them to her.

As Zelda slid the green shirt on herself, she gently held it to her nose and breathed in. Even though Link hadn't worn it in at least a few months, if not longer, it still smelt like him. She really loved his smell. It reminded her that he was always there for her, even when he wasn't around. Sometimes she wouldn't see him in a few days because he was so busy with work and would come home really late while she'd leave when he was still sleeping. On nights like those, she wouldn't hesitate to thrown on one of those shirts and fall asleep imagining he was by her side.

Of course, Zelda just liked thinking that her good friend was always close by.

It was nothing more than that. No way.

Once she was changed, she walked into the living room and curled up on the sofa, turning the TV on and skimming through the channels.

After a while, she began to doze off, lying down on her side and curled up against one of the throw pillows. It had been a long, tiring, and confusing day, and the exhaustion was almost expected.

Zelda didn't know how long she was asleep for, but she did know she woke up to a door slamming which was followed by a bunch of hushed cursing. She sat up and turned to see Link, very apologetic, standing at the door.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't notice you were asleep until I closed the door." He raised his arms in defense, expecting Zelda to start yelling at him for disturbing her.

"Don't worry about it; I was just taking a nap." She moved over on the couch to allow him enough room. "Come sit with me."

"Alright." He gave her a small smile before sitting down next to her. "What are you watching?"

"I'm not sure. I fell asleep a while ago…"

They paused as they waited to see what show or movie happened to be on. Zelda turned to look at Link, debating for the last time whether or not to tell him about Dark. She was about to turn back, now sure with her answer of not telling him when she noticed he was acting strangely.

"Uh… are you okay, Link?" She asked, lowering the volume of the television.

"I'm fine, why?" He answered quickly and almost as if he was defending himself.

"You just look really nervous is all." She continued to stare at him, knowing he'll break and confess eventually.

"Well… something… weird happened today." He finally said. "Midna and I were going over our schedules like usual. Then, out of the blue, she asked me out on a date."

Zelda's eyes went wide. She didn't think that their friends would go so far as to having Midna ask Link out. They all knew he had been head over heels in love with her just a few months before, and taking advantage of that situation was just downright cruel on their part.

"Oh, uh…" She coughed due to her throat suddenly becoming very dry. "What did you say?"

She felt her heart pounding. A couple of months ago she knew he would have said yes in a heartbeat, and she would be overjoyed for him. But why, now, was she hoping that he had said no? Not just because she was probably only asking him out as part of a plan. If he had said yes and they started going out, that means they wouldn't be able to be with each other anymore, sleeping together or otherwise.

"I said no." Link shrugged, calmly resting his arm behind Zelda's head.

"No?" She repeated, the word bringing a joy to her. "Why not?"

"When I told her how I felt, she said she didn't feel the same. It made me feel horrible, but I've moved on since then. I don't see her like that anymore." He gave Zelda a sad smile. "She's just a friend to me now, and I don't think I can ever see her as more than that."

"Oh…" Zelda nodded and looked away.

Link swallowed hard at Zelda's expression. "I also told her that I want to someday meet a girl and finally have a mature, serious relationship. I don't think she could ever give me that."

Certainly, she felt relief with his answer. But why? She should have been happy for him either way. But when he said that he will only ever see Midna as a friend now, and how he was thinking about meeting a girl one day… why did that make her heart drop? What about his words made her feel sad?

She knew they had to stop one day, but hearing him say that made her realize that it may come sooner than she expected…

"You've seemed to have a hard day, so I'll go start on dinner." Zelda stood up, clumsily pulling herself away from Link's embrace. "Rest up a bit. I'll make something fast."

"You're too good to me, Zelda." Link chuckled, rubbing her arm as she walked away.

"I can say the same about you." She smiled weakly, slowly searching through their cabinets.

After a half hour, Zelda tasted the finished pumpkin soup. She had to admit she was quite proud of her work.

"It smells really good!" Link called from the living room area, watching Zelda bring over the two bowls excitedly. She placed them down on the coffee table, deciding to eat in there that night as opposed to the more formal table in their kitchen.

They began to eat quietly; the only sounds were Link obnoxiously slurping his soup and the clinking of the metal spoons in the glass bowls. Zelda glanced towards Link at her side, who was being distracted by the television. She couldn't help but feel the warm atmosphere that settled around them. Is this what it would be like if they were dating? She couldn't say it wasn't nice…

She noticed a bit of the soup dripping down his chin, and she raised her hand to make him aware of it.

"Link, you've got a bit of…" She started, but her words trailed off.

"Oh, I didn't notice. Thanks." He replied. She expected him to grab a napkin to wipe his face, but instead he decided to try and lick it up with his tongue.

The sight was admittedly quite amusing to watch, like a dog trying to get a treat off of its nose. But more noticeably, it was kind of disgusting.

"Attractive." Zelda commented sarcastically, grimacing.

"What can I say?" Link chuckled. "I know how to please."

She rolled his eyes and he laughed at her un-amused expression. They went back to eating, and when they were almost done, a knock was heard. Zelda stood up and walked to the front door, looking through the peephole and seeing Malon. Suspicious of why her friend was there, she opened the door slowly. But it was nothing out of the ordinary; their friends tend to stop by unannounced.

"Hey Malon." She greeted happily. "Have another pot for Link to break?"

"I swear it was an accident!" Link exclaimed.

"I know, I know. I just like seeing you freak out." Zelda laughed and turned back to Malon.

Malon looked a bit disheartened, and entered without saying anything. She grabbed Zelda by the arm and brought her over to the couch, kicking the door closed in the process. She sat Zelda down, and sat herself in the armchair that was off to the side.

"Is everything alright?" Link asked, taking one last gulp of soup.

"No." Malon replied, looking down. Zelda and Link gave each other a confused look and watched their friend carefully.

"Did something happen? Is it you? My brother? Midna? Dark?" Zelda asked. Malon was the type of person that it was more likely to see her smiling than it was to not, so her current state was freaking them out. She was usually so full of energy, but at the moment she was strangely solemn.

"No, nothing happened. Nothing's wrong with Sheik, Midna, Dark, or myself." She finally met their eyes. "It's you two."

"Excuse me?" Link asked. Zelda gulped, knowing that he still hasn't found out that Malon and Midna know about them.

"You have to stop." Malon stated.

"What are you talking about?" Zelda raised an eyebrow, but she had a feeling she knew what she was talking about.

"You two need to stop sleeping together." Malon looked away, not knowing how they would react to her statement.

"What do you mean?" Link sputtered, laughing awkwardly. He knew Zelda would kill him if he gave anything away.

"I know about you two, so don't try acting dumb, Link." Malon said. He turned to Zelda, who gave him an apologetic look. "It's not healthy for you. You both haven't gone on an actual date in months, and it will only continue if you keep sleeping together."

They looked at each other. They had spoken once or twice about calling it off permanently, but they never did. Deep down they knew it could only lead to trouble, but they didn't care. But now that someone else is pointing out the same things…

"Link, you told Midna that you're looking for a serious relationship." Link nodded at this. "And Zelda, you told Dark that you aren't interested in dating right now, especially a friend."

He looked at Zelda in surprise, but her eyes were downcast. Did she really not want a relationship now? In the back of his mind, he always wondered what she would have said if he one day asked her out on a date, just to see how things would work. He never really thought that he would do it, but now he knew for sure he wouldn't.

"I had thought that it would be great if you two got together officially, but now that I know what you both want, I don't think that's possible for you two. I think it would be better if you stick to being friends." Malon stood up, slowly walking to the door with the others following her. "_Just_ friends. Nothing more."

Link's arm wrapped around Zelda loosely, his hand rubbing her waist. She leaned into him lightly.

"Honestly, we have been thinking about calling it off for a while now." Link said, looking down towards his feet.

Zelda looked up at him in surprise. _Is he…?_

"Oh?" Malon said. She really wished she could have gotten them together, but things were too complicated for that.

"And you're right. It would be better if we stopped." He continued.

Zelda looked away from both of them. She always knew it had to end sometime, but now? Not even a day more? They had always agreed that they would call it off if one of them wanted to, no questions asked, but this was so out of the blue. Deep down, she knew it was for the best, but she hadn't imagined it this way…

"I'm glad you're looking at things more realistically now." Malon smiled sadly.

She thought they would have put up more of a fight. She expected them to tell her that it wasn't any of her business and that she shouldn't worry about them. It really _wasn't_ her business, really. But she was so concerned for her friends she couldn't help but get involved. If they didn't want to listen to her, that'd be fine.

"I should probably get going now…" Malon said, looking towards the door. The pair nodded. Before leaving, she whispered to Zelda, "If you need it, you're always welcome at our place, or Midna's." She turned the knob and slipped out into the hallway with a quiet, "Goodbye."

Link and Zelda stood in silence for a moment, watching the closed door and listening to Malon walk down the hall. Zelda cleared her throat.

"I guess I should clean up the bowls…"

She began to release herself from Link's hold, but he just held her tighter. She looked up at him in confusion, wondering why he kept his arm around her. When she turned, he wrapped his other arm around her as well.

"I lied to her, you know." He said, smiling.

"What?"

"I lied." When he saw she still didn't understand, he continued, "I wouldn't have called it off that easy. But now, they'll be off our back, thinking we've stopped."

"Really?" Zelda's eyes went wide and she too began to smile.

"Yeah." His face suddenly went dark. "Well, only if you want to continue..."

Zelda brought his face down to hers and kissed him lightly.

"Of course I do."

* * *

_Did I scare you with that?  
_

_Probably not. I mean, we're only on Chapter Ten. _

_But as I said before, I actually like this chapter, which I wasn't expecting. I'm really looking forward to writing the next two chapters... in fact it's been the chapters I've been wanting to write ever since I came up with the story. Actually, I think I'm going to enjoy writing all of the chapters from now on. They're pretty fast past and exciting, so I am looking forward to them. _

_The only problem is, I am not quite sure on how to end it yet. I have a general idea, but I don't know for sure. So, if you think of a way you want this story to end, how about telling me in a review? If I really like your idea, I may just use it! _

_I'm sure you've learned not to trust me when I say I'm going to try to come out with a chapter faster this time, but I can guarantee that you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter as you had to this time. _

_So, as always, leave a review if you wish, and favorite/follow if you like the story and you have already! See you next time!  
_

_- Kreszentenia_


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